Monday, December 01, 2003
Greetings from J-List December 1, 2003
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Friday, November 28, 2003
Greetings from J-List November 28, 2003
Hello again from all of us at J-List!
I took an hour off work today to attend my daughter's "sankanbi," parent's day at school, when mothers and father come to see their kids in class (although I was the only father there). I've always been impressed with how much attention Japanese give to the education of their children, and many Japanese take a very active interest in what their children are learning. But education in Japan is very different from the U.S. First of all, Japan has chosen to standardize nearly all aspects of education on a national level, so that all aspects of learning, from textbooks to desks to how classes are structured, is decided by Japan's national Ministry of Education. School is quite strict in Japan, and there's only one "right" way for kids to do anything -- my daughter got in trouble for calling her older brother by his name (Kazuki) instead of using the word "oniichan" (Japanese for older brother), like all the other kids.
Japan's school system is undergoing many changes. Some of the changes are good -- for example, public schools recently ended the practice of holding classes on the first and third Saturdays of the month, to allow children to spend more time with their family. However, other changes bode ill for Japan's future. In postwar Japan, one of the pillars of society was that success could be achieved by excelling at academic competition, and the image of diligent students working hard to get the coveted top spot in the class rankings or to pass the difficult university entrance exams is a good one. However, public schools are no longer allowed to rank students by performance, and the old "hensachi" system, which was a numeric value assigned to all schools based on students test scores, has been outlawed. Also, despite the shrinking number of students and large number of universities operating at a loss now, a total of twelve new public, prefectural and private universities are coming on-line in Japan next spring, with more on the way. All of this means that, as Japan's population of students continues to shrink, it will be easier for students to get into the school of their choice without studying, which will mean even a degree from one of Japan's top schools may be meaningless in the future. This is why I'm planning to send my kids to school in the U.S.
If you've paid attention while watching Japanese anime or JAV, you've probably picked up on the word "ne." This is an interesting Japanese grammatical particle that usually goes on the ends of sentences and serves several purposes, mostly related to asking for confirmation of information or agreement with an opinion. Here are two examples:
"Aisu kohii futatsu desu ne?" You'd like two glasses of ice coffee, is that right?
"Kyou wa atsui desu ne." It's hot today, isn't it?
Other functions of the all-purpose Japanese particle "ne" include softening a sentence so its meaning it less harsh ("Chotto furotimashita ne." You've gained a little weight, haven't you?); emphasizing what you want to say ("Kondo chanto kiite kudasai, ne." Please listen closely next time, alright?); working as a pause in sentences, like "um" in English; and to get the attention of the listener before saying something. Girls use "ne" more often than men and with a higher intonation, so males should use the word with caution lest they appear effeminate.
We're happy to report that poor Daisuke, who injured his knee and had to spend a month in the hospital, is back at work and is doing very well. He's still going to "rihabiri" (rehabilitation) several times a week, but it's great to have him back.
For the new update, we've got some excellent products from Japan for you. They include:
For our adult customers, we've got many new 18+ products. They include:
Remember that J-List is having a big $1 shipping sale on all English-translated dating-sim games, interactive story-based PC games in which the story is to make beautiful anime girls fall in love with you. A unique slice of pop culture for adults from Japan, we've worked hard to bring these great games to our customers since they first appeared back in 1996. Coupled with our 20% discount for buying 4 or more titles, this makes it a great time to complete your bishoujo game collection!
I took an hour off work today to attend my daughter's "sankanbi," parent's day at school, when mothers and father come to see their kids in class (although I was the only father there). I've always been impressed with how much attention Japanese give to the education of their children, and many Japanese take a very active interest in what their children are learning. But education in Japan is very different from the U.S. First of all, Japan has chosen to standardize nearly all aspects of education on a national level, so that all aspects of learning, from textbooks to desks to how classes are structured, is decided by Japan's national Ministry of Education. School is quite strict in Japan, and there's only one "right" way for kids to do anything -- my daughter got in trouble for calling her older brother by his name (Kazuki) instead of using the word "oniichan" (Japanese for older brother), like all the other kids.
Japan's school system is undergoing many changes. Some of the changes are good -- for example, public schools recently ended the practice of holding classes on the first and third Saturdays of the month, to allow children to spend more time with their family. However, other changes bode ill for Japan's future. In postwar Japan, one of the pillars of society was that success could be achieved by excelling at academic competition, and the image of diligent students working hard to get the coveted top spot in the class rankings or to pass the difficult university entrance exams is a good one. However, public schools are no longer allowed to rank students by performance, and the old "hensachi" system, which was a numeric value assigned to all schools based on students test scores, has been outlawed. Also, despite the shrinking number of students and large number of universities operating at a loss now, a total of twelve new public, prefectural and private universities are coming on-line in Japan next spring, with more on the way. All of this means that, as Japan's population of students continues to shrink, it will be easier for students to get into the school of their choice without studying, which will mean even a degree from one of Japan's top schools may be meaningless in the future. This is why I'm planning to send my kids to school in the U.S.
If you've paid attention while watching Japanese anime or JAV, you've probably picked up on the word "ne." This is an interesting Japanese grammatical particle that usually goes on the ends of sentences and serves several purposes, mostly related to asking for confirmation of information or agreement with an opinion. Here are two examples:
"Aisu kohii futatsu desu ne?" You'd like two glasses of ice coffee, is that right?
"Kyou wa atsui desu ne." It's hot today, isn't it?
Other functions of the all-purpose Japanese particle "ne" include softening a sentence so its meaning it less harsh ("Chotto furotimashita ne." You've gained a little weight, haven't you?); emphasizing what you want to say ("Kondo chanto kiite kudasai, ne." Please listen closely next time, alright?); working as a pause in sentences, like "um" in English; and to get the attention of the listener before saying something. Girls use "ne" more often than men and with a higher intonation, so males should use the word with caution lest they appear effeminate.
We're happy to report that poor Daisuke, who injured his knee and had to spend a month in the hospital, is back at work and is doing very well. He's still going to "rihabiri" (rehabilitation) several times a week, but it's great to have him back.
For the new update, we've got some excellent products from Japan for you. They include:
- First, for fans of Japan's excellent miniature toys, called "candy toys" since they usually come with candy inside, we have super detailed replicas of booths at Japanese festivals, with full sets available
- For Hello Kitty fans, a fun to play "Hello Kitty Yo-Yo Fishing Game" that you play just like you do at Japanese festivals
- For anime fans, we have super action figures from Dragonball Z, designed for the Japanese market by Bandai
- Then enjoy some really cool items: Japanese traditional taiko drums that really work -- they look and sound great
- We've got more wacky Japanese signs for your room, made of real pine
- For fans of traditional Japanese food, we've got cool noodle trays and two different bowls for miso soup, very nice
- We've got some great Japanese snack treats for you, including delicious almond Fran chocolate and almond sticks, Oreo Choco Sticks that you will love, and traditional rice crackers that are a favorite around here at J-List (Brent and I eat them every day)
- Also, great new miso soup with baked shiitake mushrooms inside, yum!
- Restocked snack foods include Kabaya Tiramisu Pocky-like snacks, Hi-Chew tangerine, coconut Pocky, more wacky "Kiss Mint Gum" and more
- For fans of our unique only-sold-in-Japan toy items, we've gotten a bunch of new stock in for you, starting with a major update of our super detailed miniature food items -- look for fresh stock of all items, including miniature Japanese food, family restaurant food, Chinese food from Yokohama's Chinatown, "train station bento" miniatures and more
- Also, we've restocked the cool Japan Hot Wheels Mach 5, a super collectible item for Speed Race fans (like me)
- We've also added fresh stock of all the popular Groomy plush toys from Elecom, which feature soft chamois bottoms that you can use to keep your computer monitor clean
- Also great for anyone with a computer, we've fresh stock of the cute Massage Rabbit and Soft Squeeze Rabbit, which are great for relieving stress
- Finally, for those studying Japanese, we've added stock of all our popular Canon Wordtanks electronic study aids, which are *the* way to effectively study Japanese.
For our adult customers, we've got many new 18+ products. They include:
- For fans of erotic magazines from Japan, we've got the great new issue of Deka Melon (Big Melon), featuring hardcore Race Queen that you'll love
- We've also got the new issue of Aishite Ageru, e.g. I'll Love You, featuring great amateurs in love hotels
- For Japanese photobook fans, we've got some great items, including a delightful photobook by Yuka Hirata, the delightful swimsuit photos of Mariko Okubo, and more
- Also, fresh stock of some really rare and cool photobooks, which won't be available again -- great items for Yuko Ogura and Yinling fans!
- We have some great erotic hentai manga for you, including the delightful Compensation of Ai by Do Comics, a 2 volume set of the Bad Slayers series by Hit Comics, and EX Comics excellent Milky Onsen
- Also, we've got some restocked manga for you including Keep On Puru-Run My Sweet Baby, and more!
- For G-Taste fans, we've gotten in the very nice 2004 calendars for this year, but we only have three and no more will be available
- For our DVD customers, we've got some really fabulous items for you, starting with 4 hours of the very best sex of Saori Kamiya, a delightfully erotic AV star on the Million label (region free)
- Then enjoy more top-quality leg fetish action from Japan, with Tights Variation, everything you ever wanted to know about long-legged Japanese women in erotic stockings and tights (region free)
- TMA brings you a whopping 10 hours of top adult video action, with cosplay and more by Japan's top adult stars (region free)
- Nampa is the act of men picking up girls on the street -- now see "reverse nampa" in which lesbians pick up Japanese kogals in Tokyo's Shibuya region and ask them to try their hand at lesbian kissing (region free)
- Also for "reverse nampa" fans, see the erotic sex of girls who pick up guys and have sex with them, brought you by SOD's famous female adult video director Chie Sugawara (region free)
- Then, we've got a new Actress Restraint Maniac series DVD featuring fun bondage play by Azusa Kyouno, a delightful and erotic adult video star
- Finally, we've got fresh stock of popular erotic DVDs from Japan, including Sayaka Tsutsumi's Masterpiece Concentration, Ami Ayu's 4-hour MAX file, erotic Gymnastics Girls, Eighteen Pleasure, and more!
Remember that J-List is having a big $1 shipping sale on all English-translated dating-sim games, interactive story-based PC games in which the story is to make beautiful anime girls fall in love with you. A unique slice of pop culture for adults from Japan, we've worked hard to bring these great games to our customers since they first appeared back in 1996. Coupled with our 20% discount for buying 4 or more titles, this makes it a great time to complete your bishoujo game collection!
Wednesday, November 26, 2003
Greetings from J-List November 26, 2003
Hello again from all your friends at J-List!
Although you may think of trains when you think of Japan, you really need a car to get around unless you live in a large city like Tokyo or Nagoya. In Gunma Prefecture, where we live, there are train lines connecting the cities, but without a car it'd be very inconvenient to get anywhere. Buying a car here is a little different than it is in the U.S. For starters, nearly everyone buys cars from showrooms operated by the manufacturers (Mazda, Toyota), rather than from third-party dealers. GM's Saturn dealerships were directly based on this model. Since you're buying a car directly from the company that made it, they have total control over the buying experience and can come up with innovative ways of presenting their products to customers. Nissan has done just that with the launching of "Carest Zama," the first large-scale "car mall" twice the size of Tokyo Dome, where prospective auto buyers can browse over 100 of Nissan'a new cars, test drive them in an on-premises driving track, get service and buy various car-related products, and entertain their kids. When you buy a car in America, you usually drive off the lot that afternoon, but in Japan, virtually everyone orders the car they want, choosing color and options, and waits for it to be delivered in three weeks.
Something that causes some frustration in Japan is the sha-ken system, which is basically a total vehicle check-up all cars must get three years after a new car purchase and every two years after that. A combination safety check of all parts of the car, smog certification and tune-up, getting your car sha-ken'ed can cost anywhere from $500 to $1500 depending on how large the engine is and on the age of your car. (Part of the sha-ken fee is a road-use tax, and another part is the minimum car insurance that all drivers must carry.) Since the sha-ken fee is so expensive, Japanese usually use it as an excuse to buy a new car instead, which of course makes car manufacturers happy. On the one hand, sha-ken acts as a kind of ongoing "over-use" tax, punishing drivers who don't buy new cars every 3-5 years, and gaijin living in Japan are usually livid when they hear about all the money they have to pay to keep driving. On the other hand, having a solid safety check of all cars on a regular basis makes driving much safer, and cars almost never break here. In fact, I've only had one car problem in my twelve years in Japan, when a cat trying to get out of the cold climbed into my engine compartment, only to be ripped to shreds when I turned on my car.
What color are your eyes? All Japanese people have brown eyes, although if you ever ask them what color their eyes are, they'll tell you "black" (because the center of the eyes are black, as opposed to the iris). Japanese are often interested in the eyes of foreigners, since they come in different colors, something totally unknown in Japan (although they do have color contact lenses here). When I tell Japanese that my eyes change color depending on what I'm wearing, ranging from green to hazel to blue, they usually don't believe it's possible. My wife and I are studying Spanish, and I've been asked by my teacher, a Japanese who grew up in Peru, if I saw the world through a blue or green tint because of the color of my eyes.
J-List carries over 200 different photobooks from Japan, with beautiful idols and models, famous JPOP singers, and lovely nude photobooks. It's a great time to browse J-List's huge selection of photobook items, for two reasons. First, we've found fresh stock of some really rare items that were previously sold out, and have added them to the site. Also, for the rest of 2003 we're giving an extra big discount to customers who buy 4 more photobooks together: a whopping 20% (discount automatically applied at checkout).
For the new update, we've got some excellent products from Japan for you. They include:
For our adult customers, we've got many new 18+ products. They include:
Remember that J-List carries many items featuring the beautiful Russian nude idol Yulia Nova, including magazines, videos and more. Since J-List is the official representative of Yulia Nova, we have the best selection you'll find anywhere. Buy 3 or more Russian Beauties/Yulia Nova items and get an extra 10% discount, too.
Although you may think of trains when you think of Japan, you really need a car to get around unless you live in a large city like Tokyo or Nagoya. In Gunma Prefecture, where we live, there are train lines connecting the cities, but without a car it'd be very inconvenient to get anywhere. Buying a car here is a little different than it is in the U.S. For starters, nearly everyone buys cars from showrooms operated by the manufacturers (Mazda, Toyota), rather than from third-party dealers. GM's Saturn dealerships were directly based on this model. Since you're buying a car directly from the company that made it, they have total control over the buying experience and can come up with innovative ways of presenting their products to customers. Nissan has done just that with the launching of "Carest Zama," the first large-scale "car mall" twice the size of Tokyo Dome, where prospective auto buyers can browse over 100 of Nissan'a new cars, test drive them in an on-premises driving track, get service and buy various car-related products, and entertain their kids. When you buy a car in America, you usually drive off the lot that afternoon, but in Japan, virtually everyone orders the car they want, choosing color and options, and waits for it to be delivered in three weeks.
Something that causes some frustration in Japan is the sha-ken system, which is basically a total vehicle check-up all cars must get three years after a new car purchase and every two years after that. A combination safety check of all parts of the car, smog certification and tune-up, getting your car sha-ken'ed can cost anywhere from $500 to $1500 depending on how large the engine is and on the age of your car. (Part of the sha-ken fee is a road-use tax, and another part is the minimum car insurance that all drivers must carry.) Since the sha-ken fee is so expensive, Japanese usually use it as an excuse to buy a new car instead, which of course makes car manufacturers happy. On the one hand, sha-ken acts as a kind of ongoing "over-use" tax, punishing drivers who don't buy new cars every 3-5 years, and gaijin living in Japan are usually livid when they hear about all the money they have to pay to keep driving. On the other hand, having a solid safety check of all cars on a regular basis makes driving much safer, and cars almost never break here. In fact, I've only had one car problem in my twelve years in Japan, when a cat trying to get out of the cold climbed into my engine compartment, only to be ripped to shreds when I turned on my car.
What color are your eyes? All Japanese people have brown eyes, although if you ever ask them what color their eyes are, they'll tell you "black" (because the center of the eyes are black, as opposed to the iris). Japanese are often interested in the eyes of foreigners, since they come in different colors, something totally unknown in Japan (although they do have color contact lenses here). When I tell Japanese that my eyes change color depending on what I'm wearing, ranging from green to hazel to blue, they usually don't believe it's possible. My wife and I are studying Spanish, and I've been asked by my teacher, a Japanese who grew up in Peru, if I saw the world through a blue or green tint because of the color of my eyes.
J-List carries over 200 different photobooks from Japan, with beautiful idols and models, famous JPOP singers, and lovely nude photobooks. It's a great time to browse J-List's huge selection of photobook items, for two reasons. First, we've found fresh stock of some really rare items that were previously sold out, and have added them to the site. Also, for the rest of 2003 we're giving an extra big discount to customers who buy 4 more photobooks together: a whopping 20% (discount automatically applied at checkout).
For the new update, we've got some excellent products from Japan for you. They include:
- Because we genuinely feel it's our duty to make cool and unique products available to you from Japan, we're happy to have Tomy's Micro Aqua miniature aquariums, which recreate real fishtanks in every detail for you
- The Paper Stitch Lock, a great device that "stitches" sheets of paper together so you never need staples, has been one of our biggest sellers -- now we've got a deluxe version that comes in different colors
- For Domo-kun fans, we've restocked the popular Domo-kun towels and washcloths
- We love the high-quality Totoro toys of Sun Arrow, a famous Japanese toy company famous for their high quality products -- we've got more Makkuro Kurosuke, er, Soot Sprites in stock for you
- Japan's unique toys, like Blythe and Kubrick, really come alive in the new issue of Dolly Bird, featuring a special look at the most stylish toys you've ever seen
- We have more wacky Japanese signs for you, including one for people with men in the house who can't keep from missing the toilet
- We've got fresh stock of the popular FX Neo eyedrops, which wake you up when you're sleepy -- a very popular item
- We love cute things from Japan, and one of our favorites is the UsaColle Friends (short for Usako Collection and Friends) -- enjoy eyeglass wipes and origami paper
- For Hello Kitty fans, we've got lots of cool things you can only find in Japan, including a set of Kitty kitchen figures, a delicious way to make ice cream with Kitty, and a Kitty microwave cake set
- Then try some delicious traditional Japanese tastes including furikake, sweet bean soup, and more
- We've restocked the popular Japanese spicy caffeine gum Black Black, advertised by Jean Claude van Damme
- One of our best-selling DVD titles is Happa-Tai ("Fig Leaf Army") who were a big hit in the States -- we have "Yatta!" back in stock for you
- Finally, look for more bizarre Japanese pins, fresh stock of cool Every Blythe miniature figures, fresh stock of 120 cm authentic "loose socks" and more!
For our adult customers, we've got many new 18+ products. They include:
- For fans of Japan's beautiful erotic photography, we've got the new issue of Urecco, the "hybrid skin magazine" that features top-quality AV stars like Aoi Sora, Hitomi Hayasaka, Asuka Sawaguchi, and more, and Urecco is now an all-color magazine too!
- We've got a great item for you next, a full color magazine that comes with a 125 minute sampler DVD and a life-sized poster of Aoi Sora
- Then enjoy the new issue of Meets Girl (as in "boy meets girl") featuring real Japanese amateurs age 18 to 20 in love hotels with their boyfriends
- We've got the wonderful hardcover swimsuit photobook of Noriko Satoh, age 18, and she looks really great
- Then enjoy the delicious body of Tsukasa Kato's new photobook release, Rindoh
- We have some super new erotic manga for you including Yutaka Tanaka's great new Shiawase H, the very erotic manga Ayame by AV Comics, and a very grown-up erotic manga by Action Comics
- Also, a real treat for fans of Japan's highly developed tradition of hermaphrodite erotica, a new work by Amanoja 9 ("Amanojack") in his best-selling "TS I Love You" series
- For doujinshi fans, we've got two great new doujinshi from the famous circle Ochimentaiko, for fans of Akira Minazuki's erotic busty women, and a super Zeta Gundam hentai doujinshi
- For DVD fans, we have a great volley of new releases for you, starting with a new Body Concept erotic leg fetish from Shinkosha (region free)
- Then enjoy the super natural and shy sex of Momo Takai in her adult film debut (region free)
- Ai Nagase fans, Deep's has put together a great collection of 4 hours of her best hardcore works, and for a super price (region free)
- Miku Hasegawa and Ai Shimura look great as they perform lesbian sex and 3P (three people, e.g. manage a trois) with am extremely lucky man (region free)
- Enjoy the lesbian kissing of beautiful Japanese ladies in the new Les Kiss by U&K, the famous all-lesbian adult video studio (region free)
- Then have a feast of bukkake in Semen Club, which features delightfully slutty women playing with sperm (region 2)
- Finally, look for various restocked and reduced price DVD titles, with many more that ship with free SAL shipping!
Remember that J-List carries many items featuring the beautiful Russian nude idol Yulia Nova, including magazines, videos and more. Since J-List is the official representative of Yulia Nova, we have the best selection you'll find anywhere. Buy 3 or more Russian Beauties/Yulia Nova items and get an extra 10% discount, too.
Friday, November 21, 2003
Greetings from J-List November 21, 2003
Hello and Happy Friday from all of us at J-List! We've got a great update for you tonight just in time for the weekend!
One of the most frustrating things about living in Japan is being on a different wavelength from everyone else -- the common pool of "joshiki" (common sense) that all Japanese plug into doesn't seem to work for us foreigners. Japanese change from winter to summer clothes pretty much on the same day, due to the standardization of the educational system on a national level, but foreigners don't know that just because the first of October has come we should suddenly stop wearing T-shirts and start donning sweaters. In Japan, shops are often closed one day during the week, usually Tuesday or Wednesday, but gaijin don't know this -- and it seems we always make a special trip only to find the place we want to shop at closed. Christmas music usually stops around the New Year's Day, but Japanese shops and radio stations often play it all winter long, which is slightly odd to my gaijin mind. Oh well, it's all part of the fun of living in a place like Japan.
One of my favorites from my YBIJTLW list, located on my personal homepage: "You've been in Japan too long when it takes you several seconds of deep thought to recall the first name of the President of the United States." It's true -- you'd be surprised what living in a foreign country can do to your ability to recall seldom-used information, or even remember some English vocabulary words. Try going years without ever hearing or uttering difficult words, like "gynecologist" or "irreplaceable" -- they can be quite difficult to dredge up from the depths of your memory, even if English is your native language. It's especially bad for native English speakers who work as English teachers in Japan, because you can go for months without hearing any English except the simplified speech of your students, which invariably begins to affect your English in a negative way. In the same way that living in a country like India or New Zealand would begin to affect your own spoken English over time, living in Japan can takes its toll, too.
Japan is not, all things considered, the country you should come to if you're disabled in some way. Standards about wheelchair access are haphazard all around the country, with some cities trying to modernize their facilities, especially public places like parks, so that people with disabilities can use them. Some platforms on some train stations have some kind of wheelchair access, but if the station you're going to doesn't have the same access, it's quite difficult to use the train. One of the primary motivating factors for the progress of Japanese society is how their country looks in the eyes of the foreigners who visit or live here, and Japanese are aware that North American and European foreigners tend to look down on Japan's record when it comes to dealing with its disabled citizens. As a general rule, though, many Japanese will tell you that Japan is a small country without much land (Japan has a population density of 335 persons per square km, vs. just 29 in the U.S.), and just can't have the same amount of access that people in wheelchairs enjoy in the U.S. About a kilometer from J-List there's an interesting sports center for disabled people, with facilities for swimming, wheelchair racing, wheelchair basketball, and other activities.
Remember that we're in the middle of 2004 calendar season, with hundreds of great anime, JPOP, art, idol, traditional and nude calendars in stock for you to order. The warehouse that we constructed this summer is serving us well, allowing us to stock more calendars for you than we ever have in the past. Please note, however, that preorders are now closed for calendars, and already our stock of calendars is starting to sell out, with a half-dozen calendars selling out every day or so. Please check out our stock before the calendars you want are gone! Remember, order 4 or more calendars and get an extra 15% off, and free mailing tubes, too.
For the new update, we've got some excellent products from Japan for you. They include:
For our adult customers, we've got many new 18+ products. They include:
Remember that J-List carries something that's almost impossible to get outside of Japan: authentic, beautifully hand-sewn Japanese high school uniforms, made just for you by the famous Matsukameya of Nagoya. Each uniform is sewn just for you, to the sizes you specify on our detailed chart, and the quality is not to be believed. If you love Japanese "cosplay" and want to try on a real Japanese female high school uniform (the company takes pride in offering sizes large enough for men to wear them), please see the excellent items we have on our site. We also have uniforms for guys, too!
--
One of the most frustrating things about living in Japan is being on a different wavelength from everyone else -- the common pool of "joshiki" (common sense) that all Japanese plug into doesn't seem to work for us foreigners. Japanese change from winter to summer clothes pretty much on the same day, due to the standardization of the educational system on a national level, but foreigners don't know that just because the first of October has come we should suddenly stop wearing T-shirts and start donning sweaters. In Japan, shops are often closed one day during the week, usually Tuesday or Wednesday, but gaijin don't know this -- and it seems we always make a special trip only to find the place we want to shop at closed. Christmas music usually stops around the New Year's Day, but Japanese shops and radio stations often play it all winter long, which is slightly odd to my gaijin mind. Oh well, it's all part of the fun of living in a place like Japan.
One of my favorites from my YBIJTLW list, located on my personal homepage: "You've been in Japan too long when it takes you several seconds of deep thought to recall the first name of the President of the United States." It's true -- you'd be surprised what living in a foreign country can do to your ability to recall seldom-used information, or even remember some English vocabulary words. Try going years without ever hearing or uttering difficult words, like "gynecologist" or "irreplaceable" -- they can be quite difficult to dredge up from the depths of your memory, even if English is your native language. It's especially bad for native English speakers who work as English teachers in Japan, because you can go for months without hearing any English except the simplified speech of your students, which invariably begins to affect your English in a negative way. In the same way that living in a country like India or New Zealand would begin to affect your own spoken English over time, living in Japan can takes its toll, too.
Japan is not, all things considered, the country you should come to if you're disabled in some way. Standards about wheelchair access are haphazard all around the country, with some cities trying to modernize their facilities, especially public places like parks, so that people with disabilities can use them. Some platforms on some train stations have some kind of wheelchair access, but if the station you're going to doesn't have the same access, it's quite difficult to use the train. One of the primary motivating factors for the progress of Japanese society is how their country looks in the eyes of the foreigners who visit or live here, and Japanese are aware that North American and European foreigners tend to look down on Japan's record when it comes to dealing with its disabled citizens. As a general rule, though, many Japanese will tell you that Japan is a small country without much land (Japan has a population density of 335 persons per square km, vs. just 29 in the U.S.), and just can't have the same amount of access that people in wheelchairs enjoy in the U.S. About a kilometer from J-List there's an interesting sports center for disabled people, with facilities for swimming, wheelchair racing, wheelchair basketball, and other activities.
Remember that we're in the middle of 2004 calendar season, with hundreds of great anime, JPOP, art, idol, traditional and nude calendars in stock for you to order. The warehouse that we constructed this summer is serving us well, allowing us to stock more calendars for you than we ever have in the past. Please note, however, that preorders are now closed for calendars, and already our stock of calendars is starting to sell out, with a half-dozen calendars selling out every day or so. Please check out our stock before the calendars you want are gone! Remember, order 4 or more calendars and get an extra 15% off, and free mailing tubes, too.
For the new update, we've got some excellent products from Japan for you. They include:
- First, for fans of incredibly cute things from Japan, we've got Hidamari no Tami, a happy character who rocks his head from side to side via solar power - a special Christmas item!
- Also, a traditional wooden Christmas Tree that's popular in Japan this year
- If you're a Star Wars fans, be sure to pick up the deluxe soft vinyl completed model by Kotobuki, featuring Luke Skywalker in Stormtrooper armor from A New Hope
- For all fans of Japanese pop culture, we've got a great set of four photobooks, loaded with information on Japan as seen through movie poster art, cosplay and more
- For fans of Japan's wonderful high-end character toys, we've got the new issue of Bean's, which features beautiful photography of cool Blythe, Kubrick and other great toys from Japan
- Masumi Toyooka is one of the popular stars of Battle Royale II, and she has many fans in Japan -- enjoy her sweet hardcover photobook in stock now
- For fans of Japan's famous school uniform culture, we've got two new photobooks that show many pretty models wearing some of Japan's most famous uniforms -- great for cosplay fans
- We have some great snack foods from Japan, including traditional Japanese mustard, Milky Cocoa soft candies and Hello Kitty mayonnaise flavored fried squid
- Also, we've restocked our popular Hello Kitty toilet paper (both colors)
- We've also got super cute Fruit Yogurt Pretzels from the Nyanko Restaurant character series
- Then enjoy the delightful swimsuit offering of Mai Mochizuki, a beautiful and popular cute idol in Japan today
- For fans of CLAMP, we've got a great 2 volume set of their newest manga work, XXX Holic
- We've got more wacky Japanese sign plates, including "Do Not Urinate Here" and a classic Japanese exit sign
- Also, new wacky Japanese colorful "pin badges" for your collection
- We've got some fun items for you, including more Japanese play money and Japanese train tickets (complete with ticket clipper)
- We have some cool traditional cloth drawstring bags with hiragana on them, very cool
- Finally, enjoy cute "Lucky Cat" stickers, more varieties of Pocky and Pretz in stock for you, a great way to make coffee in the Japanese style, Hello Kitty watercolor painting, and more!
For our adult customers, we've got many new 18+ products. They include:
- First, enjoy the new issue of Senningiri, featuring delightful kogals from Shibuya
- We've got the new issue of I'll Give Myself To You, for fans of erotic hardcore sex by Japanese amateurs
- For fans with an international eye, we've got the new issue of Bachelor, Japan's magazine for fans of busty women all around the world, with girls from Germany, Czech, Latvia and more
- Also: a great treat for our magazine customers, we've added abut 15-20 items that were previously out of stock, including many of our popular $5 magazine -- but they'll go fast!
- For hardcover photobook fans, enjoy the very erotic offering of Kaori, with her dynamite body that will amaze you
- For hentai manga fans, we've got some top-quality adult comics for you, with two great works by Sho Katase, Hiroshi Kawamoto's erotic Monstrous Big Breasts, and parody Shirow Masamune hentai
- We've also got lots of restocked comics, including Buttagiri Sisters, Kunoichi Premium, Sacrifice, and more
- For DVD fans, we've got some great new items for you, starting with a great parody of "sentai" or colorful combat teams like Power rangers, this time with a very erotic twist (region free)
- Then enjoy the erotic sex of Mai Sakashita, who stars in 24 Hours Bukkake Semen & Sex, a great work from Soft on Demand (region free)
- From SOD's Deep's label, enjoy a great 2-in-1 release of Lesbian Hospital vol. 3 & 4, collected on a great bargain-priced DVD for you (region free)
- The erotic gals of Eastern Europe are back again, with more erotic Czech girls from Prague (region free)
- Then enjoy the best lesbian sex of U&K's Lesbian Ecstasy Best Vol. 1, with their most erotic lesbian performances ever (region free)
- From Waap Entertainment, enjoy a great Cosplay Bukkake Special featuring Nao. fulfilling your erotic wishes (region 2)
- Then we've got a great treat for fans of our bargain-priced Soft on Demand Outlet DVD titles: a full dozen titles added to the outlet page, with great titles like Super Bishoujo Kiss, Cat Fight Network Manticore, Kiss Battle Royale and more available for a great price!
Remember that J-List carries something that's almost impossible to get outside of Japan: authentic, beautifully hand-sewn Japanese high school uniforms, made just for you by the famous Matsukameya of Nagoya. Each uniform is sewn just for you, to the sizes you specify on our detailed chart, and the quality is not to be believed. If you love Japanese "cosplay" and want to try on a real Japanese female high school uniform (the company takes pride in offering sizes large enough for men to wear them), please see the excellent items we have on our site. We also have uniforms for guys, too!
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Monday, November 17, 2003
Greetings from J-List November 17, 2003
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Friday, November 14, 2003
Greetings from J-List November 14, 2003
Hello and TGIF from all your friends at J-List!
Hair loss is big business in Japan, and many companies provide services for Japanese who find themselves getting a bit of "bar code hair" on top. National chains like Adelance and Art Nature and Leave 21 use beautiful models like former Race Queen Miho Yoshioka to put a bright and happy face on the hair loss industry. Visit one of their clean locations and they'll use modern technology to investigate the reason your hair is thinning, and advise you on the best course of action (treatment, implants, wigs and so on). In Japan's aging society, treating hair loss is a booming industry, and I've even seen TV commercials advertising to women who experience hair loss in their later years.
Throughout the 1980s and early 90s, American companies struggled with the problem of how to do business in Japan. With its complex distribution systems and tendency to do business through shoukai (personal introductions), Japan was not an easy place for American companies to sell products. All that changed when Toys R Us entered the Japanese market, growing rapidly to 140 stores and changing the way toys were distributed in Japan -- and of course putting many smaller chains out of business in the process. Suddenly, American brands had a way to bring their products into Japan in large numbers, through the Toys R Us system, and dozens of products that would never have taken root in Japan, from Brio trains to Legos to Milton Bradley board games, are now quite popular. J-List has also had to deal with the changes brought about by Toys R Us's affect on the market -- in the seven years we've been in business, we've had several of the distributors we buy products from go bankrupt, forcing us to find other suppliers. Once, while driving in my Mazda Bongo Friendee, I saw a surprising thing: a small toy store that we had shopped at occasionally in the past went out of business, and was replaced by a store selling Buddhist altars and gravestones to elderly Japanese, a sure sign of the changes that are taking place here. As Costco and Walmart increase their interest in the country, Japan is probably in store for more changes.
Part of the reason why Japan can look so strange to outsiders is its tendency for them to do things as a group, something that's rarely done in America, a country that places importance on individuality rather than everyone working in harmony. One example of Japan's moving as a group is "koromo-gae" (koh-roh-mo-GA-eh, lit. "changing clothes"), when you put away your winter clothes and bring out the summer clothes you've got in storage. For Japanese school students, koromo-gae means the day you change from your winter uniform to the cooler summer uniform, or vice-versa in the autumn. For virtually every student in the country, the changeover takes place on June 1 and November 1 -- on those days and only those days, regardless of the actual weather or what part of Japan you live in. The prospect of millions of students changing from warm-weather to cooler-weather clothing on the exact same morning of the same day is vaguely unsettling to Westerners. Because Americans don't have a set day to switch from summer mode to winter mode, we tend to wear short-sleeve shirts fairly deep into autumn, and it's common for Japanese to ask "Aren't you cold?" to us even though it might still be a balmy October day outside
It's time for some "koromo-gae" at J-List, too. We're extremely proud of the success of our J-List trademark wacky Japanese T-shirts, and we thank all J-List customers for your support. Because not every part of the world offers T-shirt weather all year around, we've printed the first-ever long-sleeve crewneck and hoody versions of our most popular shirts, the classic "Looking for a Japanese Girlfriend." Now you can don these wacky and bizarre message everywhere you go, even in the colder months! All shirts are printed in the U.S. and all sizes are standard U.S. sizes. For customers in other countries, we've got a convenient size chart so you can check the sizes.
For the new update, we've got some excellent products from Japan for you. They include:
For our adult customers, we've got many new 18+ products. They include:
Looking for some really unique gifts to give out this Christmas? J-List stocks over 2500 different unique products from Japan, from bizarre things that you never knew existed to supremely cute items for your home or room, to products for adults, of course. Why not browse J-List's list and see what we have for that special Japanophile on your Christmas list? Note that if ordering items from Japan, SAL shipping should be avoided as it tends to slow down as Christmas draws near.
Hair loss is big business in Japan, and many companies provide services for Japanese who find themselves getting a bit of "bar code hair" on top. National chains like Adelance and Art Nature and Leave 21 use beautiful models like former Race Queen Miho Yoshioka to put a bright and happy face on the hair loss industry. Visit one of their clean locations and they'll use modern technology to investigate the reason your hair is thinning, and advise you on the best course of action (treatment, implants, wigs and so on). In Japan's aging society, treating hair loss is a booming industry, and I've even seen TV commercials advertising to women who experience hair loss in their later years.
Throughout the 1980s and early 90s, American companies struggled with the problem of how to do business in Japan. With its complex distribution systems and tendency to do business through shoukai (personal introductions), Japan was not an easy place for American companies to sell products. All that changed when Toys R Us entered the Japanese market, growing rapidly to 140 stores and changing the way toys were distributed in Japan -- and of course putting many smaller chains out of business in the process. Suddenly, American brands had a way to bring their products into Japan in large numbers, through the Toys R Us system, and dozens of products that would never have taken root in Japan, from Brio trains to Legos to Milton Bradley board games, are now quite popular. J-List has also had to deal with the changes brought about by Toys R Us's affect on the market -- in the seven years we've been in business, we've had several of the distributors we buy products from go bankrupt, forcing us to find other suppliers. Once, while driving in my Mazda Bongo Friendee, I saw a surprising thing: a small toy store that we had shopped at occasionally in the past went out of business, and was replaced by a store selling Buddhist altars and gravestones to elderly Japanese, a sure sign of the changes that are taking place here. As Costco and Walmart increase their interest in the country, Japan is probably in store for more changes.
Part of the reason why Japan can look so strange to outsiders is its tendency for them to do things as a group, something that's rarely done in America, a country that places importance on individuality rather than everyone working in harmony. One example of Japan's moving as a group is "koromo-gae" (koh-roh-mo-GA-eh, lit. "changing clothes"), when you put away your winter clothes and bring out the summer clothes you've got in storage. For Japanese school students, koromo-gae means the day you change from your winter uniform to the cooler summer uniform, or vice-versa in the autumn. For virtually every student in the country, the changeover takes place on June 1 and November 1 -- on those days and only those days, regardless of the actual weather or what part of Japan you live in. The prospect of millions of students changing from warm-weather to cooler-weather clothing on the exact same morning of the same day is vaguely unsettling to Westerners. Because Americans don't have a set day to switch from summer mode to winter mode, we tend to wear short-sleeve shirts fairly deep into autumn, and it's common for Japanese to ask "Aren't you cold?" to us even though it might still be a balmy October day outside
It's time for some "koromo-gae" at J-List, too. We're extremely proud of the success of our J-List trademark wacky Japanese T-shirts, and we thank all J-List customers for your support. Because not every part of the world offers T-shirt weather all year around, we've printed the first-ever long-sleeve crewneck and hoody versions of our most popular shirts, the classic "Looking for a Japanese Girlfriend." Now you can don these wacky and bizarre message everywhere you go, even in the colder months! All shirts are printed in the U.S. and all sizes are standard U.S. sizes. For customers in other countries, we've got a convenient size chart so you can check the sizes.
For the new update, we've got some excellent products from Japan for you. They include:
- First, for Hello Kitty fans, we've got a super item for you this Christmas: a "Hello Kitty Dancing Santa" that features Japan's most famous character dancing as she sings Japanese Christmas carols, so cool!
- We've got other cool Kitty stuff in too, including Kitty Monjayaki (a traditional Japanese food), Kitty Monaka (chocolate in waffle cone) and more
- For fans of our other Japanese snack foods, we've got fresh stock of the delicious Mont Blanc and Tira Misu Pocky-like snacks, new sugarless gum from Japan, and more
- If you didn't get enough Domo-kun last update, we've restocked even more cool Domo-kun items, including the popular plush Domo-kun cubes that turn any room into a great Domo-kun shrine
- Also, some great traditional Japanese green tea in easy-to-prepare tea bags -- just like being in a sushi shop
- Want something esoteric from Japan? We've got part 2 of the Shows Enamel Signs series, featuring real signs that are incredibly famous to all Japanese, advertising products that have been around for half a century or more
- Another cool thing from Japan, we've got a series of mysterious phenomenon from around the world, rendered in fun miniature toys
- For fans of wacky Japanese messages, we've got more wacky Japanese "pin badges" with super cute messages on them
- We've also got a great deluxe idol magazine featuring super cute and famous idols lke Yuko Ogura, Yumiko Shaku, Nao Nagazawa and more
- It's getting cold, so you should warm yourself with the popular heating pads that are so popular in Japan -- a pack of 5 large heating pads that last up to 18 hours is just $3.50, a great price
- Studying Japanese? We've got some handy pocket dictionaries in stock that are great for those with some Japanese
- For fans of cute things from Japan, we recommend the Ham-Chan cute hamster rocket pencils that are really fun to write with, along with cola-scented gum erasers
- For fans of Japan's high-end cold cast anime statues, which really take your breath away with their detail and beauty, we have a Guilty Gear X "Millia Rage" figure
- Do you like funny English? We've got more wacky notebooks with funny English printed on them
- For fans of our unique anime toys from Japan, we've restocked the popular Bluer Than Indigo figure, the cool Haro robot clock from Gundam, two often-requested items
- Look for fresh stock of Tsutomu Nihei's popular art book "Blame! and so on"
- For Shirow Masamune fans, fresh stock of the Ghost in the Shell bilingual comics as well as the last stock of the poster books which are one of the best-selling items at J-List today
- Finally, for fans of Japan's cool Gothic fashion culture, we've got fresh stock of the Homemade Gothic Lolita, which includes patterns to make the cool-looking clothes in the book
- Finally, various other cool toy and characters items in time for Christmas, including Jiji pencil cases, Hello Kitty pachinko (cool!), Sanrio Weebles-like egg toys, cute Nyanko Nabe cats, and fresh stock of the popular Hello Kitty USB hub!
For our adult customers, we've got many new 18+ products. They include:
- First, we've got the new issues of Video Boy and Best Video, two great magazines that are filled with the most famous professional adult video idols in Japan
- Also, a super erotic magazine featuring Kirari Koizumi and a host of other cute girls in fun cosplay
- For fans of our discounted $5 magazines, we've got a great volley of products that turned up in our stock room -- so you have the chance to buy these formerly unavailable books and save money too
- Super cute "campaign girl" (similar to a race queen, they promote products with their sexy bodies) Yuu Misaki looks great in her new hardcover photobook
- Also, enjoy the very erotic bondage photographs of famous Japanese pro wrestler Takako Inoue in her newest release
- Super cute swimsuit idols Sayaka Uchida and Sayaka Numajiri appear together in a super-cute double photobook, filled with great kogal style
- Then we've got fresh stock of several popular photobook items, including Yukari's oh-so-sweet Chance photobook and the dynamite Endless Race Queen photobook
- Yui Toshiki's full-color Yui Shop series set records for hentai art sales, and now there's a great remix, Yui Shop Mini Black, issued at a great new price
- We've restocked the popular Chichinoe Plus erotic art book, also
- For our hentai manga fans, enjoy many great new books, including the erotic Honey Angel Slave by Hashi Cube, Let Me Lick Your Stick by The Mikikazu, and a great new kemono manga by Masaki Kamitou
- Also, a major restocking of popular hentai manga including Private Teacher Miki, Leave it to Big Breasts, Comic Maker, Capricious of You and many more
- For our DVD fans, we've got some more great items for you, starting with a new Nao Oikawa's Bukkake Itassho, featuring wacky Japanese late-night television for adults, captured on a great DVD for fans all over the world (region free)
- Then we've got a new "roshutsu" (outdoor nude) offering from Dogma's Tohjiro, featuring nudity and sex in public places, starring four top-name actresses (region free)
- There's more "penis study" for fans of "tamakeri" or ball kicking/teasing from Soft on Demand, as inexperienced girls play with a man's testicles for the first time (region free)
- Also from SOD, enjoy the Super High Class Beautiful Legs Club, featuring erotic women with gorgeous legs, silky stockings, high high heels, and sexy mini-skirts (region free)
- Finally, we've got two great "Semen Champion Carnival" releases from Moodyz, in which top stars combat each other in teams or individually, trying to earn the Moodyz Cup for Scramble Semen Actress, directed by the father of bukkake, Kazuhiko Matsumoto (region 2).
Looking for some really unique gifts to give out this Christmas? J-List stocks over 2500 different unique products from Japan, from bizarre things that you never knew existed to supremely cute items for your home or room, to products for adults, of course. Why not browse J-List's list and see what we have for that special Japanophile on your Christmas list? Note that if ordering items from Japan, SAL shipping should be avoided as it tends to slow down as Christmas draws near.
Wednesday, November 12, 2003
Greetings from J-List November 12, 2003
Hello again from all of us at J-List!
A bout of colder weather here in Japan has caused us to perform our "bringing out the fan heater" ceremony earlier than usual. Since there's no central heating in Japan, people use small "fan heaters" to heat rooms. A tank full of kerosene is burned to heat the room, while a computer inside the heater controls the flame to keep the room temperature where you want it, and beeps every three hours to remind you to open the windows for ventilation. There are two downsides to heating your home with these Japanese heaters, though. First of all, they can be quite smelly, especially when you accidentally kick your heater when walking past it, causing the unit to turn off and fill your room with partially burned kerosene fumes. Also, the fuel in the removable tank invariably runs out at the most inconvenient times, requiring someone (usually me) to go outside into the shivering air to refill the tank with a small plastic pump, all while trying to keep from getting kerosene all over his hands. You can see a picture of what these heaters look like here: http://www.mitsubishielectric.co.jp/home/f_heater/ (page is Japanese).
It's not easy for a San Diego boy like me to live in a place like Japan. San Diego is, if you haven't been there in the winter, blessed with warm desert winds that keep the weather quite balmy when the rest of America is shivering with cold. Blessed, or cursed, I should say, since those same Santa Ana winds were to blame for turning huge areas into a tinderbox last month. Gunma Prefecture, right in the center of the main Japanese island of Honshu, is famous for three things that start with K: konnyaku, aka conjac, a very firm gelatinous food made from boiled yam flour; kakaa-denka, particularly strong-willed women like my wife; and kara-kaze, the freezing winds that whip down from the mountains that run through the middle of Japan into the Kanto region, where Gunma and Tokyo are located. Despite the cold, Kanto winters rarely get much snow, which is kind of bummer for me, since if it's going to be cold I'd like some pretty snow for my trouble. To survive winter in Japan, I always wear my "momohiki" (Japanese for long underwear).
Oops -- earthquake! Right in the middle of my update, too. Like California, Japan is earthquake country, and it seems that every third day we're feeling one shaker or another, but the one that just ended seemed to be stronger than most. According to NHK's news site, it was a 6.5 magnitude quake centered somewhere around Izu Peninsula, about 150 km south of here. As with living in California, you just learn to be at peace with the occasional shakes. In 1994 a terrible earthquake in the Kobe/Osaka are killed over 5000 people. Because strong quakes don't usually happen that far south the building codes were much more lenient than the ones for Tokyo.
Because J-List is based in Japan we're able to get many products for our customers that wouldn't otherwise be available. We've loved the wacky character Domo-kun, the spokesmonster for NHK's "BS" (broadcast satellite) channels, ever since he came out, and we carry over 40 really cool products for Domo-kun fans around the world, including plush toys, towels, keychains, and Domo-kun objets d'art for your home. Since Domo-kun items are among the most popular for Christmas, we've stocked up on virtually all items for you, with over 20 items restocked. Enjoy the great items!
J-List sells our original wacky Japanese T-shirts with messages like "I'm Looking for a Japanese Girlfriend." We have so many designs in stock that we're always closing out older ones to make room for new shirts, so don't wait too long to get the shirt or shirts you want. Are you a big guy? If so then you're in luck: several of our closeout shirts are all sold out except for the larger sizes, 2XL and 3XL. Take advantage of the great prices and get a cool shirt, or give them for Christmas!
For the new update, we've got some excellent products from Japan for you. They include:
For our adult customers, we've got many new 18+ products. They include:
Remember that J-List stocks three great region-free DVD players that allow you to play DVDs from other regions, such as region 2 DVDs from Japan and Europe. They also support PAL/NTSC conversion and are loaded with spiffy features. We recently reduced our price on these players for people who want to order them for Christmas -- enjoy these three great ways to watch DVDs, which ship out of our San Diego location. Best of all, you can't beat the prices -- start at just $88 for the transportable Lasonic DVB-8092!
A bout of colder weather here in Japan has caused us to perform our "bringing out the fan heater" ceremony earlier than usual. Since there's no central heating in Japan, people use small "fan heaters" to heat rooms. A tank full of kerosene is burned to heat the room, while a computer inside the heater controls the flame to keep the room temperature where you want it, and beeps every three hours to remind you to open the windows for ventilation. There are two downsides to heating your home with these Japanese heaters, though. First of all, they can be quite smelly, especially when you accidentally kick your heater when walking past it, causing the unit to turn off and fill your room with partially burned kerosene fumes. Also, the fuel in the removable tank invariably runs out at the most inconvenient times, requiring someone (usually me) to go outside into the shivering air to refill the tank with a small plastic pump, all while trying to keep from getting kerosene all over his hands. You can see a picture of what these heaters look like here: http://www.mitsubishielectric.co.jp/home/f_heater/ (page is Japanese).
It's not easy for a San Diego boy like me to live in a place like Japan. San Diego is, if you haven't been there in the winter, blessed with warm desert winds that keep the weather quite balmy when the rest of America is shivering with cold. Blessed, or cursed, I should say, since those same Santa Ana winds were to blame for turning huge areas into a tinderbox last month. Gunma Prefecture, right in the center of the main Japanese island of Honshu, is famous for three things that start with K: konnyaku, aka conjac, a very firm gelatinous food made from boiled yam flour; kakaa-denka, particularly strong-willed women like my wife; and kara-kaze, the freezing winds that whip down from the mountains that run through the middle of Japan into the Kanto region, where Gunma and Tokyo are located. Despite the cold, Kanto winters rarely get much snow, which is kind of bummer for me, since if it's going to be cold I'd like some pretty snow for my trouble. To survive winter in Japan, I always wear my "momohiki" (Japanese for long underwear).
Oops -- earthquake! Right in the middle of my update, too. Like California, Japan is earthquake country, and it seems that every third day we're feeling one shaker or another, but the one that just ended seemed to be stronger than most. According to NHK's news site, it was a 6.5 magnitude quake centered somewhere around Izu Peninsula, about 150 km south of here. As with living in California, you just learn to be at peace with the occasional shakes. In 1994 a terrible earthquake in the Kobe/Osaka are killed over 5000 people. Because strong quakes don't usually happen that far south the building codes were much more lenient than the ones for Tokyo.
Because J-List is based in Japan we're able to get many products for our customers that wouldn't otherwise be available. We've loved the wacky character Domo-kun, the spokesmonster for NHK's "BS" (broadcast satellite) channels, ever since he came out, and we carry over 40 really cool products for Domo-kun fans around the world, including plush toys, towels, keychains, and Domo-kun objets d'art for your home. Since Domo-kun items are among the most popular for Christmas, we've stocked up on virtually all items for you, with over 20 items restocked. Enjoy the great items!
J-List sells our original wacky Japanese T-shirts with messages like "I'm Looking for a Japanese Girlfriend." We have so many designs in stock that we're always closing out older ones to make room for new shirts, so don't wait too long to get the shirt or shirts you want. Are you a big guy? If so then you're in luck: several of our closeout shirts are all sold out except for the larger sizes, 2XL and 3XL. Take advantage of the great prices and get a cool shirt, or give them for Christmas!
For the new update, we've got some excellent products from Japan for you. They include:
- First, Japan's tradition of highly detailed anime figures, models and cold-cast statues is wonderful, and we've got two excellent issues of Figure Maniacs, special photobooks that are filled to the brim with incredible pro-painted anime figures
- Also, Gothic & Lolita Bible is a fabulous encyclopedia of all that's goth in Japan -- we've gotten in back issues for fans who want to experience this fabulous item (each issue comes with a complete sewing pattern inside, too)
- For fans of Japanese candy toys (aka shokugan or gashapon), small but highly detailed toys that usually come with candy inside the box, we have a special reissue of the best-selling Thunderbirds vehicles from Konami, with limited stock of full sets available
- Also for fans of meticulous Japanese replica toys, we've restocked the Local Gift Goods, incredibly detailed replicas of the gifts that Japanese people give to one another during the summer (ochuugen) and winter (oseibo) months (full sets are available)
- Karaoke is a national pasttime of Japanese, and dogs are very popular in Japan too -- so Takara created the super-fun Singing Dog Story toys, doggies that sing real JPOP songs and even harmonize if you put them together!
- We have the new DVD of the too-cool-to-miss Ghost in the Shell TV series by Shirow Masamune, which features a new box to put your other discs in and a cool ID card holder
- For fans of our famous Japanese snack foods, we've got some fun items, including Hello Kitty cookies, cute chocolate mini doughnuts and more
- Look for various restocked snack and gum items, too, like real miso soup, Chocolate Mountain Mushrooms (they're cookies that are fun to eat), Meiji Fran (a luxurious stick snack like Pocky), Koala March (famous cookies that look like koala bears) and so on
- Also, we've restocked several cool Japan Hot Wheels (like the Speed Racer Mach 5 and Stingray), as well as the Tomica Nissan Skyline, very nice
- For Blythe fans, we've got fresh stock of the cute Every Blythe vol. 2 small figures
- Also, we've restocked the popular Panda Z robot figure with pilot -- damn this is cute!
- Want to learn how to draw manga? We carry all the great English-language How to Draw Manga books for you, and we've just added stock of some popular books that had sold out
- Aya Matsuura, aka "Ayaya," is the hottest force in the JPOP scene these days, and we've got a dynamite new photobook for her fans
- We have some cool new straps for your keitai, er, your cellular phone, which happen to match the phone strap on Lucy Liu's phone in Kill Bill
- We love the Kubrick toys from Medicom Toy, not just because they make wacky figures, but because they're so well designed -- perfect for all collectors. We have a new "military" Kubrick series that's really cool
- Japanese women are very hygienic, and they regularly trim facial hair such as eyebrows to match the style they want to project -- we've got some of these cool facial hair removers in stock for you
- Finally, enjoy more wacky Japanese badges with funny messages in English and Japanese, more wacky signs in Japanese, and other cool wacky items from Japan!
For our adult customers, we've got many new 18+ products. They include:
- We've got a great new "mook" (a cross between a magazine and a book) dedicated to the lovely Emiru Momose, a sweet and charming girl who will delight you with her first nude appearance
- Then enjoy the great new "love and eros of street girls magazine" Meets Girl, featuring real sex by erotic Japanese amateurs aged 18-22
- We've got some great new sexy swimsuit idol photobook items for you, including the lovely new offering by Manami Fuku and the super sexy hardcover photobook of Yuki (Yuuki) Etsuko
- For hentai manga lovers, we've got some excellent books for you, including Colorful Love by talented erotic illustrator Setsuna, maid fetish in Doki Doki Suru Koto, Sweet Sweet Voice by Hirohito Tokie, and more
- Also, a major restocking of other popular manga titles, including Beautiful and Talented, various dick girl comics, and the super-cool Ghost in the Shell 1.5
- For yaoi lovers, we've got the very cool vol. 2 of Gush Mania, too, featuring erotic works by ten yaoi artists
- We've got some great DVDs for you today, starting with a super 3 hour selection of great sex by new face Marimo Asoh, who has a 100 cm bust and an I cup yet a tiny, slender body (region free)
- For fans of our new leg fetish DVDs, we've got the dynamite new Leg Moment featuring the slender stocking-clad legs of Miyu Nagase and Meri Sakikawa -- yum (region free)
- For fans the stylish sexual style we've come to call "girls in Underoos" (because it includes sexy Japanese girls wearing too-small cute underpants), enjoy a great foray into lesbian love from SOD's Chujitsudoh label (region free)
- The erotic AV star Kay looks great getting fucked every which way from Sunday in a new release for her fans (region free)
- We're big fans of the dynamite Mirai Hoshizaki and her sizzling sexual style -- enjoy her great new release on the Wanz Factory label (region 2)
- Finally, we've even more adult DVDs with girls from Romania, Moscow, Vienna, Czech Republic and more, as well as Bukkake Dream Party, Semen Bank and the popular Clothed Female Naked Male series.
Remember that J-List stocks three great region-free DVD players that allow you to play DVDs from other regions, such as region 2 DVDs from Japan and Europe. They also support PAL/NTSC conversion and are loaded with spiffy features. We recently reduced our price on these players for people who want to order them for Christmas -- enjoy these three great ways to watch DVDs, which ship out of our San Diego location. Best of all, you can't beat the prices -- start at just $88 for the transportable Lasonic DVB-8092!
Monday, November 10, 2003
Greetings from J-List November 10, 2003
Hello again from all of us at J-List!
It's November in Japan, a time to head out into the mountains to enjoy "koyo," the turning of the leaves in the autumn. Like the week-long season of the sakura in early April, when cherry blossoms transform the country into a breathtaking world of exploding white flowers, autumn here can be a brilliant thing to behold with colors of red and gold. J-List is based in Gunma Prefecture, right in the center of the main Japanese island of Honshu (a city about 30 km from here is the actual geographic center of Japan, and they have "belly button festivals" in the summer there), and we're far enough from the concrete of Tokyo that we can enjoy the "vibrant nature" of Japan all around us. Gunma is nice in the fall, but the most famous place to enjoy the autumn colors is Nikko, a popular tourist destination and the site of Toshogu, a famous temple where shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa's remains are interred. It's a bit too beautiful for its own good though: every weekend tens of thousands of visitors from Tokyo converge on Nikko, turning the peaceful city into a bustling nightmare of cars.
You probably set your clock an hour back at the end of October. Most people grumble about having to remember to set their clocks forward and back in the spring and autumn, this isn't a problem in Japan, the only industrialized country that has not adopted the Daylight Savings Time system. Instead, we have to deal with the other extreme -- by the time I get up in the morning, the sun has been up for at least three hours. It's not that hard to get used to, but all things considered, having that daylight available when you're actually awake and using it is kind of convenient.
For one reason or another, some phrases in English have burned themselves on the collective consciousness of the Japanese, and are quite famous here. When an American named Dr. Clark (universally known as "Clark-hakase" HA-KA-say) went to Sapporo to help establish what would become Sapporo University, he left the following advice to his Japanese hosts: "Boys, be ambitious!" (i.e., strive to achieve excellence in all that you do). These three words are studied by all Japanese, and somehow manage to pop up all over the place in one form or another. (There's a manga and anime called "Boys Be..." that is based on this phrase.) When pop singer Momoe Yamaguchi retired from singing, she sang a song to her fans that went "Thank you for your kindness...thank you for your tenderness" and as a result, virtually all Japanese over 30 know this famous phrase. Speeches by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Abraham Lincoln ("Government for the people, by the people, and of the people") are studied in school the same way we studied Shakespeare in the U.S., too.
Glico has declared that November 11 is Pocky Day, because of the way 11 11 looks like Pocky snacks. Everyone enjoy some Pocky! We've got plenty in stock for you at J-List.
For the Monday update we have a great bunch of items for you. They include:
For our adult customers, we've got many new 18+ products. They include:
J-List sells virtually every Japanese dating-sim game available, with great English-translated games by JAST USA, Peach Princess, G-Collections, Himeya Soft and more. We've recently reduced our prices on three great titles from Peach Princess: X-Change 1 (hilarious sex change comedy), Snow Drop (beautiful erotic love story in a winter wonderland) and Critical Point (intense sci-fi game with elements of classic 80's anime) to just $24.95. Enjoy these great prices on these excellent games! (And if you buy 4 or more games you get another 20% off.)
Remember that J-List has stock of great 2004 calendars right now...but our stock is limited to what we've got on hand as well as the few calendars that haven't come in yet (we're still waiting for delivery on them). If you've got your eye on a very special anime, JPOP, bikini idol, nude or other calendar from Japan this year, we humbly recommend that you buy soon! We'll be making our last calendar order to our distributors towards the end of this week!
It's November in Japan, a time to head out into the mountains to enjoy "koyo," the turning of the leaves in the autumn. Like the week-long season of the sakura in early April, when cherry blossoms transform the country into a breathtaking world of exploding white flowers, autumn here can be a brilliant thing to behold with colors of red and gold. J-List is based in Gunma Prefecture, right in the center of the main Japanese island of Honshu (a city about 30 km from here is the actual geographic center of Japan, and they have "belly button festivals" in the summer there), and we're far enough from the concrete of Tokyo that we can enjoy the "vibrant nature" of Japan all around us. Gunma is nice in the fall, but the most famous place to enjoy the autumn colors is Nikko, a popular tourist destination and the site of Toshogu, a famous temple where shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa's remains are interred. It's a bit too beautiful for its own good though: every weekend tens of thousands of visitors from Tokyo converge on Nikko, turning the peaceful city into a bustling nightmare of cars.
You probably set your clock an hour back at the end of October. Most people grumble about having to remember to set their clocks forward and back in the spring and autumn, this isn't a problem in Japan, the only industrialized country that has not adopted the Daylight Savings Time system. Instead, we have to deal with the other extreme -- by the time I get up in the morning, the sun has been up for at least three hours. It's not that hard to get used to, but all things considered, having that daylight available when you're actually awake and using it is kind of convenient.
For one reason or another, some phrases in English have burned themselves on the collective consciousness of the Japanese, and are quite famous here. When an American named Dr. Clark (universally known as "Clark-hakase" HA-KA-say) went to Sapporo to help establish what would become Sapporo University, he left the following advice to his Japanese hosts: "Boys, be ambitious!" (i.e., strive to achieve excellence in all that you do). These three words are studied by all Japanese, and somehow manage to pop up all over the place in one form or another. (There's a manga and anime called "Boys Be..." that is based on this phrase.) When pop singer Momoe Yamaguchi retired from singing, she sang a song to her fans that went "Thank you for your kindness...thank you for your tenderness" and as a result, virtually all Japanese over 30 know this famous phrase. Speeches by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Abraham Lincoln ("Government for the people, by the people, and of the people") are studied in school the same way we studied Shakespeare in the U.S., too.
Glico has declared that November 11 is Pocky Day, because of the way 11 11 looks like Pocky snacks. Everyone enjoy some Pocky! We've got plenty in stock for you at J-List.
For the Monday update we have a great bunch of items for you. They include:
- First, for Final Fantasy X-2 fans, we've got a treat: fresh stock of the cute super deformed FFX2 character keychains from Bandai which had sold out before
- We have a cool item for fans of traditional Japanese things: special paper that's great for writing love letters to your girlfriend, your boyfriend, or anyone
- We've got some great snack items for you today, starting with a tasty new Melty Kiss taste -- white chocolate and cacao
- Also, we've gotten other cool items, like a sampler pack of Meiji chocolate, Baby Star chicken ramen, and a popular item, chocolate covered sunflower seeds
- It's "shichi go san" time in Japan right now, when kids aged 7, 5 or 3 get dressed up for special photographs and to go to the Shinto shrine -- we've got more stock of traditional chitose candy that's eaten at this time of year
- We love Love Hina, and we've got a great series of cute Love Hina figures, great to collect and display
- We have another cool series of toys from Japan, the Miniature Antique Museum, replicas of classic toys that were played with one hundred or more years ago
- For Hello Kitty fans, we've got a deluxe rice bowl with chopsticks set that's really cool, as well as various restocked items
- Also, a treat for Hello Kitty fans: super-warm Kitty Vests that are made of the same super-soft acrylics as our popular Japanese blankets -- these things are really neat
- For Totoro fans, fresh stock of the cute Totoro stickers, hand made in Japan
- If you love Domo-kun, we've got some new cute plush toys of Domo's friends, Usajii and Taachan, so cute
- Want to play with some Japanese money? We've got some cute toy money that's really fun to play with in stock
- We love all kinds of wacky things from Japan, and what could be more wacky than signs in Japanese? We've gotten in several cool Japanese signs for you
- Also, we've got some cute Japanese "pin badges" that have bizarre and cute designs on them, with wacky English and Japanese messages
- Also, we've restocked the "Japanese congratulations envelopes" which are used to give cash gifts at weddings (but you can do anything you like with the envelope)
- Finally, look for real Japanese wasabi, authentic Japanese abacuses, and more!
For our adult customers, we've got many new 18+ products. They include:
- First of all, we have the great new Minisuka Deluxe, for all fans of gorgeous Japanese women with long, slender legs wearing "panty stockings" and mini-skirts, photographed from a low angle
- We've got the new issue of the Top Speed, a magazine that's just overflowing with lovely adult actresses and Race Queens from Japan
- For fans of Maichy, e.g. Mai Hagiwara, we've got a superb new photobook featuring her excellent nude photographs, fresh, clean and very erotic!
- Also, the great hardcover nude photobook of Natusmi Mitsu, a sweet new nude idol from Japan
- Check out the super sexy photobooks of dynamite swimsuit idols Aya Kudo and Chiaki Sato, both amazing to behold
- Also, we've restocked several sexy idol photobook items too, including items by Yuko Ogura, Harumi Nemoto, Kaori Oguri, Yoko Matsugane
- Also, more copies of Girl Friends for fans of "Japanese girls in underoos"
- For hentai manga collectors, we've got some great new books in stock for you, including a collection of stories about erotic nymphomaniac girls by Kyun Comics, the super erotic Dirty Acts - Kegare by artist Hyji, and beautiful erotic artwork of Tomo Hirokawa in Cherry Concerto
- There are also many restocked manga works, including the erotic Twiny Attraction, Devil x Devil, No Mercy, and
- Also, a great new manga for yaoi fans by Takashi Kanzaki
- We've got some great DVD titles for you, starting with the new No Cut!! erotic release of Amu Masaki featuring 3 hours of her great sex for a great price (region free)
- Maria Takagi is the top adult star in Japan today, and looking at her new Lovers DVD release it's easy to see why -- enjoy her lovely sex with her brand new release (region free)
- Japan's up-skirt and sexy stocking fetish photography is famous among Japanophiles, and now you can enjoy this great thrill on DVD, with The Chiralism, a great "situation and costume play" release from Shinkosha (region free)
- The Japanese love to use lubricating lotion during sex to create slippery fun -- we've got a new DVD from SOD's Martian Devil label for fans of this erotic "lotion play" (region free)
- Then, enjoy Yui Kayama in an erotic fighting ninja DVD in which she transforms into a super-heroine to defend justice for all (region free)
- Then, the busty and beautiful Maria Yumeno shows you her best hardcore sex ever in a new 3 hour release from Wanz Factory (one of our favorite indies studios in Japan)
- Finally, look for freshly restocked girls from Russia, Hungary, Germany and France, as well as even more discounted DVDs with free shipping!
J-List sells virtually every Japanese dating-sim game available, with great English-translated games by JAST USA, Peach Princess, G-Collections, Himeya Soft and more. We've recently reduced our prices on three great titles from Peach Princess: X-Change 1 (hilarious sex change comedy), Snow Drop (beautiful erotic love story in a winter wonderland) and Critical Point (intense sci-fi game with elements of classic 80's anime) to just $24.95. Enjoy these great prices on these excellent games! (And if you buy 4 or more games you get another 20% off.)
Remember that J-List has stock of great 2004 calendars right now...but our stock is limited to what we've got on hand as well as the few calendars that haven't come in yet (we're still waiting for delivery on them). If you've got your eye on a very special anime, JPOP, bikini idol, nude or other calendar from Japan this year, we humbly recommend that you buy soon! We'll be making our last calendar order to our distributors towards the end of this week!
Friday, November 07, 2003
Greetings from J-List November 7, 2003
Hello again from all your friends at J-List. Today is Friday, which is usually the day I take my kids to the public bath. However today is Matrix Night, and I'm taking my wife out for dinner and movie. But first, our regularly scheduled update...
Japan is a strongly democratic country, and I've always been impressed with how much a part of life in Japan voting and elections are, especially with older Japanese. Japan uses a parliamentary system that was based on England's, which can be a little confusing to my American mind at times. There are many small and medium sizes political parties in Japan, including the Democratic Party of Japan (Minshuto, the second largest party), the Social Democratic Party (Shaminto, they're headed by Takako Doi, one of the most famous female politicians here), the Japan Communist Party (they favor elimination of the consumption tax), Koumeito (the political party formed by members of the Soka Gakkai religion), and so on. But for almost the entire history of postwar Japan, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (Jiminto), which has strong support in rural prefectures, has had almost complete run of the country, losing power only once in the mid 1990's. An annoying aspect of elections here is that candidates are allowed to drive around in trucks with big loudspeakers on them, thanking everyone within earshot for their support and promising to work hard for their constituents. We're in "election mode" in Japan right now, and I can hear the candidates from outside my window even as I type. It's really quite annoying.
One of the engines that drives Japanese society and makes Japanese people the way they are is called "hito no me" (HEE-toh noh meh), which translates as "the eyes of others." In all that you do in Japan, there is the sense that you're being watched by everyone around you, and that if you stray too far outside the invisible lines of what is acceptable you'll be judged harshly. This tendency to be concerned with how you appear in the eyes of people is a big part of Japanese daily life, and it's part of the reason why Japan can seem a very homogenous place when viewed from the outside. In Japan, you throw your garbage out on set days, and knowing what kind of trash is okay to put out on any given day can require a Master's Degree in Trashology. But if you don't follow the rules and put exactly the right trash out that morning (not, by the way, the night before), you'll suffer the ire of the ever-watching people around you, which subtly causes you to conform in ways that no threat of fine or punishment could. Since most people in Japan are considerably thinner than they are in the States (at 100 kg, I am gargantuan for Japan, and have been asked by Japanese if I was a K-1 fighter), there is always that pressure to conform to the others around me and lose weight--which is a good thing of course. In the U.S., we try to value adversity and individuality, and if we saw someone walking under an umbrella even though it wasn't raining outside, we might chuckle and say that he dances to his own tune. But in Japan there's less chance that doing something that no one else is doing will be viewed in a favorable light.
Related to "hito no me" is the idea of "joshiki," a word which translates to "common sense" but means much more. The Japanese all seem to have a built-in common sense, ideas about the way things work, and they are very much in harmony with each other. It is "joshiki" that all kids will go to school to be taught and brought up as happy citizens of the society, and so there is homeschooling in Japan. Similarly, it is common sense that babies be born in hospitals, and so there is very little in the way of alternate birthing here. An American friend of mine who was pregnant planned on having her baby and going back to work a few months later, but unfortunately, this goes against the "joshiki" rule that mothers should spend the first few years at home with their children before coming back to work, and she found herself blocked at every pass. This "all powerful common sense" that the Japanese seem to possess is always at work in Japan.
J-List carries three reliable region-free DVD players in our San Diego which we highly recommend for anyone who wants to enjoy viewing DVDs from other regions, such as Japan (certain discs are zones for region 2) and Europe. All three players we sell have passed the rigorous "J-List acceptability test" and will be great additions to your home as a main or spare DVD player. To help you choose one of these great players, we've dropped prices on all three of them, to $88 and $98 for the two transportable Lasonics and $109 for the deluxe Cyberhome. They make great Christmas gifts, too! Units ship daily from San Diego.
J-List sells both adult and non-adult products, and we separate all products into two sections, non-adult and 18+. In the past, we've posted the popular swimsuit idols like Yuko Ogura, Yinling and Chinatsu Wakatsuki in the PG section, since they weren't adult products. However because of the rather, ah, stimulating nature of some of the swimsuit photos we've decided to create a new section for these very photobooks and DVDs and list them in the adult section, instead.
We'll be switching the J-List images server, which delivers J-List product images, to a faster server that will be able to bring up images much more quickly. We plan on making the switch during the weekend. As usual, if you notice any problems with the J-List site, please email us and we'll take care of it right away.
For the new update, we've got some excellent products from Japan for you. They include:
For our adult customers, we've got many new 18+ products. They include:
Remember that J-List carries dozens of super cool "candy toy" (miniature toys that usually come with candy inside, called "shokugan" in Japanese) items from Japan, with many varieties of cool items -- anime figurines, replicas of famous battleships, super detailed replicas of Japanese food and sushi, Star Trek vehicles and more. They're great to display, and since we offer full sets of virtually all toys we sell, so you don't have to buy duplicates, you can save time, money and aggravation. Check out all our candy toys items!
Japan is a strongly democratic country, and I've always been impressed with how much a part of life in Japan voting and elections are, especially with older Japanese. Japan uses a parliamentary system that was based on England's, which can be a little confusing to my American mind at times. There are many small and medium sizes political parties in Japan, including the Democratic Party of Japan (Minshuto, the second largest party), the Social Democratic Party (Shaminto, they're headed by Takako Doi, one of the most famous female politicians here), the Japan Communist Party (they favor elimination of the consumption tax), Koumeito (the political party formed by members of the Soka Gakkai religion), and so on. But for almost the entire history of postwar Japan, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (Jiminto), which has strong support in rural prefectures, has had almost complete run of the country, losing power only once in the mid 1990's. An annoying aspect of elections here is that candidates are allowed to drive around in trucks with big loudspeakers on them, thanking everyone within earshot for their support and promising to work hard for their constituents. We're in "election mode" in Japan right now, and I can hear the candidates from outside my window even as I type. It's really quite annoying.
One of the engines that drives Japanese society and makes Japanese people the way they are is called "hito no me" (HEE-toh noh meh), which translates as "the eyes of others." In all that you do in Japan, there is the sense that you're being watched by everyone around you, and that if you stray too far outside the invisible lines of what is acceptable you'll be judged harshly. This tendency to be concerned with how you appear in the eyes of people is a big part of Japanese daily life, and it's part of the reason why Japan can seem a very homogenous place when viewed from the outside. In Japan, you throw your garbage out on set days, and knowing what kind of trash is okay to put out on any given day can require a Master's Degree in Trashology. But if you don't follow the rules and put exactly the right trash out that morning (not, by the way, the night before), you'll suffer the ire of the ever-watching people around you, which subtly causes you to conform in ways that no threat of fine or punishment could. Since most people in Japan are considerably thinner than they are in the States (at 100 kg, I am gargantuan for Japan, and have been asked by Japanese if I was a K-1 fighter), there is always that pressure to conform to the others around me and lose weight--which is a good thing of course. In the U.S., we try to value adversity and individuality, and if we saw someone walking under an umbrella even though it wasn't raining outside, we might chuckle and say that he dances to his own tune. But in Japan there's less chance that doing something that no one else is doing will be viewed in a favorable light.
Related to "hito no me" is the idea of "joshiki," a word which translates to "common sense" but means much more. The Japanese all seem to have a built-in common sense, ideas about the way things work, and they are very much in harmony with each other. It is "joshiki" that all kids will go to school to be taught and brought up as happy citizens of the society, and so there is homeschooling in Japan. Similarly, it is common sense that babies be born in hospitals, and so there is very little in the way of alternate birthing here. An American friend of mine who was pregnant planned on having her baby and going back to work a few months later, but unfortunately, this goes against the "joshiki" rule that mothers should spend the first few years at home with their children before coming back to work, and she found herself blocked at every pass. This "all powerful common sense" that the Japanese seem to possess is always at work in Japan.
J-List carries three reliable region-free DVD players in our San Diego which we highly recommend for anyone who wants to enjoy viewing DVDs from other regions, such as Japan (certain discs are zones for region 2) and Europe. All three players we sell have passed the rigorous "J-List acceptability test" and will be great additions to your home as a main or spare DVD player. To help you choose one of these great players, we've dropped prices on all three of them, to $88 and $98 for the two transportable Lasonics and $109 for the deluxe Cyberhome. They make great Christmas gifts, too! Units ship daily from San Diego.
J-List sells both adult and non-adult products, and we separate all products into two sections, non-adult and 18+. In the past, we've posted the popular swimsuit idols like Yuko Ogura, Yinling and Chinatsu Wakatsuki in the PG section, since they weren't adult products. However because of the rather, ah, stimulating nature of some of the swimsuit photos we've decided to create a new section for these very photobooks and DVDs and list them in the adult section, instead.
We'll be switching the J-List images server, which delivers J-List product images, to a faster server that will be able to bring up images much more quickly. We plan on making the switch during the weekend. As usual, if you notice any problems with the J-List site, please email us and we'll take care of it right away.
For the new update, we've got some excellent products from Japan for you. They include:
- For fans of our new high-quality acrylic Hello Kitty blankets, which are soft and colorful and really make you warm, we've got more cool items: My Neighbor Totoro blankets in various sizes!
- By customer request, we've restocked the Sesame Street Kubrick toy series, which is an incredibly cool series of block figures from Medicom Toy (full sets are in stock)
- Morning Musume, the cute JPOP idol group, continues to charm fans all over the world -- we've got a great hardcover photobook for their fans
- Do you love Japanese snack foods? We've got some cool new items including authentic Japanese "samurai" rice crackers, delicious yakisoba that you can eat without cooking, and for Doraemon fans, wonderful Doraemon ramune candy
- Also, every year we sell the silky and delicious Melty Kiss chocolate fudge from Meiji, which is only sold in the winter months -- we've gotten the first Melty Kiss of the year in for you, and it looks delicious
- For fans of Japanese gum, we have some taste new grape flavored stick gum from Bourbon, and fresh stock of delicious Green Gum from Lotte, which makes you think of a fresh forest
- We've got fresh stock of several snack items, including Okinawan Black Candy (kuro-ame), a real treat, strawberry flavored Milky candy, and Shigekix, the super tart "hard gummi candy" that's really fun to eat
- For fans of super detailed Japanese toys, we've got an all-die cast metal replica of the Delorean from Back to the Future, a fabulous item made by Skynet
- Hello Kitty fans, we've got some cool items sold only in Japan -- a rally fun Kitty portable phone for kids that lets you talk to Kitty in Japanese, a fun paint set, fresh stock of Hello Kitty Pretz, and more
- The G-Taste characters from Hiroki Yagami's daring art book series are famous -- we've got a super new set of figurines that come in "gashapon" capsules, with full sets available
- For fans of wacky Japanese English, we've got some hilarious stickers that feature funny designs and funnier English -- "Use them anywhere you need for your safety"
- We've got a new wacky "Power Stone" in stock, a good luck charm that promises to increase your friendship with others
- Finally, look for a way to keep thermoses clean, a handy all-purpose pouch that can carry anything, fresh stock of Hello Kitty toilet paper, more great hot springs powder, more Pocky, and other great products from Japan!
For our adult customers, we've got many new 18+ products. They include:
- We've got a nice new adult magazine in for you, Dela Beppin, the "deluxe beppin" that features tons of Japan's cutest, most famous adult stars and amateurs
- For fans of the delightful Nao Oikawa, currently the top name in Japan's adult video world, we've got a great photobook featuring the most incredible photographics of Nao-chan, on a special trip to Hokkaido
- Then catch the first issue of Bitch! featuring erotic hardcore by famous stars like Rina Usui
- Also, the lovely new issue of Deka Melon ("deka" means huge), which features super erotic gals in high Race Queen form, showing you their sexy slender legs and erotic nudes
- For hardcover photobook fans, we've got some excellent items for you, starting with the superb nude and cosplay of Mihiro, age 20
- Sayaka Uchida looks great, too, in her oh-so-extreme sexual bikini photobook offering, that will really knock your socks off
- Various restocked photobooks from Japan include several by Yuko Ogura, the super-cute high school uniform Pictorial Pocket Book, and Yurika Itoh's I-LU-CA
- Japan's erotic dating-sim games are famous all over the world, and we've got a great color "visual art works" book for Libido 7, an all-lesbian bishoujo game
- For hentai manga fans, we've got some great items for you, including Deep French Kiss by Takayuki Kusano, Bondage Breasts by Toen Comics and more great new erotic manga for you
- Also, for yaoi lovers, the new issue of Gush Mania, featuring compilations of extreme yaoi stories by ten artists (we loved the homosexual Nazis)
- We've also got freshly restocked adult manga, like Love Colle vol. 5, the very stylized Radical Vector, and various restocked yaoi items too
- J-List carries interesting adult toy products sold in the Japanese market, and we've restocked several popular items, including "Japan Rotor" vibrators (all sizes), the Super Magical Mitten, the Japanese Clitoris Cap, and the life-sized Hitomi Hayasakai Love Pillow
- For adult DVD customers, enjoy several new offerings, starting with Izumi Hasegawa's fourth delightful No Cut!! DVD release, featuring three hours of her sweet sex for one low price (region free)
- Then enjoy superb Adult Video Wrestling as only Japan can bring it to you, with Fuck Down! featuring stars like Nanase Nanami and Mai Haruna going at it in the ring (region free)
- From Soft on Demand, a very special treat: a 8 Years Anniversary Special that shows you 4 hours of the best SOD works since their creation, organized into useful sections (bukkake, lesbian kissing, tekoki, penis study, and so on) (region free)
- Then for fans of the Japanese fetish of "roshutsu" or going nude outdoors, we've got an erotic offering on SOD's outlet page (region free)
- From Moodyz, we've got another dynamite "black men vs. Japanese girl," this time with the lovely Airi Niiyama giving it up in "Beautiful Maiden and Black Man's Sex" (region 2)
- Ran Asakawa is an erotic adult video star from Japan, and she gives you first-flight treatment in The Complete Ran Asakawa, 3 luscious hours long (region 2)
- Finally look for various restocked DVDs, including Sayaka Kusunoki's top-selling yaoi-erotic Shonen A and more!
Remember that J-List carries dozens of super cool "candy toy" (miniature toys that usually come with candy inside, called "shokugan" in Japanese) items from Japan, with many varieties of cool items -- anime figurines, replicas of famous battleships, super detailed replicas of Japanese food and sushi, Star Trek vehicles and more. They're great to display, and since we offer full sets of virtually all toys we sell, so you don't have to buy duplicates, you can save time, money and aggravation. Check out all our candy toys items!
Monday, November 03, 2003
Greetings from J-List November 3, 2003
Hello again to all J-Listas!
It seems that Japanese people never fail to surprise you. You would think that they'd be horribly offended by slurs like "yellow monkey," which are sometimes used to describe Japanese people, and yet there's a popular rock band in Japan that proudly names itself Yellow Monkey. Similarly, Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto played in a band called the Yellow Magic Orchestra, a name which sounds a little odd to gaijin like me. In 1991, writer Shoko Ieda wrote a novel called Yellow Cab about the strange phenomenon of normally demure Japanese females going to New York and becoming nymphomaniacs when they find themselves suddenly free of Japanese society, and the term came to describe all Japanese females who too loose sexually. You might assume this term would be offensive to the Japanese, but again, you'd be wrong: one of Japan's most famous talent agencies is called Yellow Cab. They handle virtually all the top swimsuit idols in Japan, including Megumi, Harumi Nemoto, Eiko Koike and Eriko Satoh, and all girls who want to be "talents" (a catch-all word that refers to any kind of young swimsuit idol, singer or actor) dream of being scouted by them. Search for "yellow cab" on J-List to see these girls, if you don't know them already.
The Japanese do some things that are very strange to foreigners. One is the way they crouch while waiting for a bus or a train, which is called "yankii-zuwari" or "sitting like a yankee." Basically, they squat very low, somehow managing to put their heels flat on the ground, rather than balancing on their toes. It's very hard for most gaijin to achieve this pose, yet Japanese find it very comfortable, probably because they learn this posture using Japanese toilets, which have no seat (you squat over them). In Japanese usage, a "yankee" (yankii) refers to teenagers who are rebels or "bad kids" -- the kind of teens who refuse to go to school, who smoke, who hang out in game centers. They're similar to the "boso-zoku," the motorcycle gangs who ride around Japan making as much noise as they can. We're not sure why the English word yankee came to refer to the bad seeds among Japan's youth, but one idea comes from the fact that rebelling Japanese often dye their hair blonde (or orange), and maybe it comes from this (foreigners = Americans = blonde hair to the Japanese mind). If you want to see a picture of what yankii-zuwari looks like, Yasu demonstrates it for you here: http://www.jlist.com/yankii.html
First, we're happy to announce a great new shirt for our female customers, a new fitted girly tee version of our popular "Looking for a Japanese Boyfriend" shirt. It's very stylish and the Japanese characters are as aesthetically pleasing as the look on the faces of Japanese who happen to see it. And it goes great with version 2 of our "Looking for a Japanese Girlfriend" shirt. In stock and ready for you to order!
We're happy to announce the beginning of our Japanese character blanket season. In Japan, they have incredibly high-quality blankets made of soft acrylic fibers, which are warm and soft to touch and beautiful to look at, printed with bright colors and cute characters. Every winter we make these great items available to customers around the world, and we've gotten our first stock in for you, four different varieties of cute Hello Kitty soft blankets and "halfkets" (Japanese for a half-sizes blanket). We know you'll love the incredibly soft feel and unique look to these great new blankets, sold only in Japan.
For the new update, we've got some excellent products from Japan for you. They include:
For our adult customers, we've got many new 18+ products. They include:
Do you like Domo-kun? At J-List we do, and because of our special relationship with toy distributors in Japan, we're able to bring you dozens of super-cool Domo-kun items, from high-quality plush toys to PVC keychains to Domo-kun face towels and more. Domo-kun is the spokesmonster for NHK's "BS" channels (it means broadcast satellite), and he and his friends Usajii (the TV-watching rabbit), Ta-chan (sports watch-wearing weasel girl) and Shinobu and Morio (two bats) have become famous all over the world because of their extreme cuteness. Why not give Domo-kun gifts this year for Christmas?
It seems that Japanese people never fail to surprise you. You would think that they'd be horribly offended by slurs like "yellow monkey," which are sometimes used to describe Japanese people, and yet there's a popular rock band in Japan that proudly names itself Yellow Monkey. Similarly, Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto played in a band called the Yellow Magic Orchestra, a name which sounds a little odd to gaijin like me. In 1991, writer Shoko Ieda wrote a novel called Yellow Cab about the strange phenomenon of normally demure Japanese females going to New York and becoming nymphomaniacs when they find themselves suddenly free of Japanese society, and the term came to describe all Japanese females who too loose sexually. You might assume this term would be offensive to the Japanese, but again, you'd be wrong: one of Japan's most famous talent agencies is called Yellow Cab. They handle virtually all the top swimsuit idols in Japan, including Megumi, Harumi Nemoto, Eiko Koike and Eriko Satoh, and all girls who want to be "talents" (a catch-all word that refers to any kind of young swimsuit idol, singer or actor) dream of being scouted by them. Search for "yellow cab" on J-List to see these girls, if you don't know them already.
The Japanese do some things that are very strange to foreigners. One is the way they crouch while waiting for a bus or a train, which is called "yankii-zuwari" or "sitting like a yankee." Basically, they squat very low, somehow managing to put their heels flat on the ground, rather than balancing on their toes. It's very hard for most gaijin to achieve this pose, yet Japanese find it very comfortable, probably because they learn this posture using Japanese toilets, which have no seat (you squat over them). In Japanese usage, a "yankee" (yankii) refers to teenagers who are rebels or "bad kids" -- the kind of teens who refuse to go to school, who smoke, who hang out in game centers. They're similar to the "boso-zoku," the motorcycle gangs who ride around Japan making as much noise as they can. We're not sure why the English word yankee came to refer to the bad seeds among Japan's youth, but one idea comes from the fact that rebelling Japanese often dye their hair blonde (or orange), and maybe it comes from this (foreigners = Americans = blonde hair to the Japanese mind). If you want to see a picture of what yankii-zuwari looks like, Yasu demonstrates it for you here: http://www.jlist.com/yankii.html
First, we're happy to announce a great new shirt for our female customers, a new fitted girly tee version of our popular "Looking for a Japanese Boyfriend" shirt. It's very stylish and the Japanese characters are as aesthetically pleasing as the look on the faces of Japanese who happen to see it. And it goes great with version 2 of our "Looking for a Japanese Girlfriend" shirt. In stock and ready for you to order!
We're happy to announce the beginning of our Japanese character blanket season. In Japan, they have incredibly high-quality blankets made of soft acrylic fibers, which are warm and soft to touch and beautiful to look at, printed with bright colors and cute characters. Every winter we make these great items available to customers around the world, and we've gotten our first stock in for you, four different varieties of cute Hello Kitty soft blankets and "halfkets" (Japanese for a half-sizes blanket). We know you'll love the incredibly soft feel and unique look to these great new blankets, sold only in Japan.
For the new update, we've got some excellent products from Japan for you. They include:
- Shirow Masamune fans, we're happy to report that we've obtained limited stock of the bestselling poster books, Wild Wet West, Hall Hound and Gal Hound, so if you missed out on these fantastic collections of his posters, which also come with trading cards inside
- We've got a nice photobook featuring the best of "Shape Up Girls," a sexy unit of body-conscious idols from Japan
- Also enjoy super cute photobooks by charming idol Emi Hasegawa and super cute Mizuho Oda, and another dynamite picture collection featuring Yoko Matsugane, one of the most popular swimsuit idols in Japan today
- We've got some great Japanese tea that is healthy and great for dieting -- jasmine tea and the popular dokidami tea, in handy tea bags to make it easy to prepare
- Then, for fans of our Japanese snacks and other items, enjoy cute hamster ramune candy, and a variety of delicious chocoball candies from Morinaga
- For fans of our unique Japanese 2004 calendars, we've gotten several new ones in stock, including the very cool Dragonball issue
- We also stock many varieties of Japanese gum, and have posted some new varieties to our page, including Japanese Recaldent and gum to make your teeth white
- For fans of unique Japanese toys, we have some cool Microman figures, which are the Japanese version of the Micronauts (and much higher quality than the re-release of the Micronauts, if I may say so)
- Also, we've got some really cool Marvel Kubrick figures, featuring classic heroes from the Marvel universe, great for any fan
- Also, fresh stock of the popular Panda-Z action figures and keychains, a great item from Japan for you
- Hello Kitty fans will go ape over a cool Kitty shampoo bottle, a great addition to your bath or shower
- Also, fresh stock of the incredibly popular Hello Kitty kigurumi masks, which allow you to totally transform yourself into Sanrio's most famous character
- Also, we've got fresh stock of Japanese bath powder, which replicates real Japanese hot springs for you
- Then, we've got another wacky Japanese "power stone" that promises to improve your love life
- It's getting colder, so we've gotten in fresh stock of a popular item, the Japanese warming pads that keep you warm for up to 18 hours
- We've lowered our prices on several of the popular shokugan toy sets, including full sets of the Ghost in the Shell and Intron Depot figures that are so cool
- If you're studying Japanese, you might want to get a Wordtank, the world-famous Japanese-English electronic dictionaries by Canon that feature English menus -- and we've knocked our prices on all units down for you
- For fans of our "Dirty American Devil" wacky Japanese T-shirt in camouflage, we've restocked the sizes that were out of stock for the past couple of months
- We have fresh stock of parody items, like the popular "toilet paper that helps you poop"
- Finally, look for some high-quality Japanese pencils, some super cute "stick glue," a perfect cloth bag to carry your bento in, more wacky Japanese stickers, more go sets, more Hot Wheels from Japan, and more!
For our adult customers, we've got many new 18+ products. They include:
- For fans of erotic Japanese adult stars, we've got the new issue of Bejean, featuring a multitude of heavenly bodies from Japan for you, including Sonan, Yoko Mitsuya, Maria Takagi, Ryoko Mitake
- Then, for fans of the Japanese fetish of "hitozuma" (lit. "a person's wife"), or married women, we've got a new naughty magazine for you
- For fans of hardcover photobooks from Japan, enjoy G-Taste, a truly beautiful offering from Mita Kitagawa
- We have some excellent new hentai comics for you from some of Japan's best artists and manga houses, including Sakura Mitoni's Love Diary, Tsukasa's Prime of Petit Devil, and more
- Also, we have great restocked hentai manga for you, including popular "dick girl" books, the Punky Knight comics, fresh stock of the Electric Fighting Daughter doujinshi anthologies, and more
- Also, for fans of Takuya Inoue's superb erotic artwork, we've got an amazing color artbook featuring his busty, sexy female characters -- stock is limited!
- We've got some great items for our DVD customers, starting with the lovely Aiai Sakura in her second No Cut!! release, featuring three hours of great erotic (region free)
- Then from Dogma and director Hitoshi Ninomura, enjoy the Kiss Addicted Oneesan, Miri Sugihara, an erotic adult star who loves all kinds of sex (region free)
- Then, from SOD's Natural High label, we've got a special new Asuka Sawaguchi DVD featuring the best hardcore works of this bright and charming starlet from Japan (region free)
- Japan's tradition of "sentai" (sci-fi fighting team) shows, embodied in the U.S. as Power Rangers, is famous all over the world -- enjoy an erotic sentai parody for a great price, on the Soft on Demand Outlet page (region free)
- From Wanz Factory, we have a great bondage play DVD with Yui Kayama, showing you her happy, energetic sex (region 2)
- Then, the super-erotic Akira Watase looks great in her newest release, which brings you three hours of her most erotic sexual performances ever (region 2)
- Finally, we've got fresh stock of several popular items, including Ann Nanba's "Removal of the Lesbian Ban" (where do they get these titles from?), Bunko Kanazawa's "Dream Woman 19," SOD's study of female masturbation, more dynamite women's wrestling, more DVDs with free shipping, and more.
Do you like Domo-kun? At J-List we do, and because of our special relationship with toy distributors in Japan, we're able to bring you dozens of super-cool Domo-kun items, from high-quality plush toys to PVC keychains to Domo-kun face towels and more. Domo-kun is the spokesmonster for NHK's "BS" channels (it means broadcast satellite), and he and his friends Usajii (the TV-watching rabbit), Ta-chan (sports watch-wearing weasel girl) and Shinobu and Morio (two bats) have become famous all over the world because of their extreme cuteness. Why not give Domo-kun gifts this year for Christmas?
Saturday, November 01, 2003
Greetings from J-List November 1, 2003
Hello again from Japan, home of cars with names like Crown Super Saloon.
Even a simple word like friend (in Japanese, "tomodachi") can vary quite a bit in meaning between languages. In American English, we use the word friend in many situations to describe everyone from casual acquaintainces to people we work with to close friends of all ages, but the Japanese word "tomodachi" is only used for friends who are close in age to you. Instead of tomodachi, other words are used instead, such as senpai (if the person is in the same school or company as you, and is older), kohai (same, but if they're younger), and so on. Some of these words create a "barrier of politeness" between you and the other individual, which can make true friendship with people not close to your age difficult.
There's no doubt about it: the Japanese need to get a national immigration policy. With an extremely low birth rate, Japan has much the same problem as Europe and the U.S.: a society that is aging, placing more of a burden on fewer younger workers (currently, one out of every six Japanese is aged 65 or older). Unlike the U.S., which has a constant stream of people coming to live from other countries, Japan lacks a mechanism for balancing its low birth rate with immigration. The other day I met an Iranian man in the public bath, and we spoke (in Japanese, since he didn't speak English and I don't speak Farsi) about his situation. Because he had overstayed his original work visa, he was unable to work openly and was afraid of being deported, despite having lived in Japan for ten years and speaking excellent Japanese. Just as Germany has done with guest workers from Turkey, Japan needs a system in place to encourage people from other countries to settle in Japan and use their unique skills for the benefit of the country.
We're extremely happy to announce that Peach Princess's long-awaited bishoujo fantasy RPG, Brave Soul, is finally shipping from our office in San Diego. A totally new kind of game that features an advanced scrolling RPG system, challenging combat against monsters, and multi-scenario romantic paths you must complete with each of your female companions. The crowning achievement of Japanese game maker Crowd, we're extremely glad to be able to bring this popular game to you in English! It's in stock and ready for your immediate order.
The Japanese Adult Video Star for the month of November is Asuka Sawaguchi. A charming idol who combines great beauty with the willingness to do anything for her fans, Asuka-chan's star has risen with incredible speed since she debuted in 2002, and she's had the flexibility to star in both "pro" productions (by companies like Kuki and Alice Japan) and "indies" (Soft on Demand, Moodyz), allowing her to pick up a lot of fans in Japan and all ove the world. Born in Hokkaido in 1983, she likes walking. Her blood type is A.
For the new update, we've got some excellent products from Japan for you. They include:
For our adult customers, we've got many new 18+ products. They include:
Do you love the anime films of Hayao Miyazaki? Remember that J-List stocks all the excellent region 2 DVD releases for Studio Ghibli movies like Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, Castle in the Sky Laputa, Princess Mononoke and his Lupin III classic, The Castle of Caliostro. These DVDs are released in Japan directly by the studio and include many features that make them great for collectors. All discs feature English subtitles and/or dubbed tracks and are great for fans who want the definitive versions of these anime classics overseen by Mr. Miyazaki himself. The only catch is, you need a region free DVD player to watch them -- and J-List humbly recommends the three excellent units we currently sell.
Even a simple word like friend (in Japanese, "tomodachi") can vary quite a bit in meaning between languages. In American English, we use the word friend in many situations to describe everyone from casual acquaintainces to people we work with to close friends of all ages, but the Japanese word "tomodachi" is only used for friends who are close in age to you. Instead of tomodachi, other words are used instead, such as senpai (if the person is in the same school or company as you, and is older), kohai (same, but if they're younger), and so on. Some of these words create a "barrier of politeness" between you and the other individual, which can make true friendship with people not close to your age difficult.
There's no doubt about it: the Japanese need to get a national immigration policy. With an extremely low birth rate, Japan has much the same problem as Europe and the U.S.: a society that is aging, placing more of a burden on fewer younger workers (currently, one out of every six Japanese is aged 65 or older). Unlike the U.S., which has a constant stream of people coming to live from other countries, Japan lacks a mechanism for balancing its low birth rate with immigration. The other day I met an Iranian man in the public bath, and we spoke (in Japanese, since he didn't speak English and I don't speak Farsi) about his situation. Because he had overstayed his original work visa, he was unable to work openly and was afraid of being deported, despite having lived in Japan for ten years and speaking excellent Japanese. Just as Germany has done with guest workers from Turkey, Japan needs a system in place to encourage people from other countries to settle in Japan and use their unique skills for the benefit of the country.
We're extremely happy to announce that Peach Princess's long-awaited bishoujo fantasy RPG, Brave Soul, is finally shipping from our office in San Diego. A totally new kind of game that features an advanced scrolling RPG system, challenging combat against monsters, and multi-scenario romantic paths you must complete with each of your female companions. The crowning achievement of Japanese game maker Crowd, we're extremely glad to be able to bring this popular game to you in English! It's in stock and ready for your immediate order.
The Japanese Adult Video Star for the month of November is Asuka Sawaguchi. A charming idol who combines great beauty with the willingness to do anything for her fans, Asuka-chan's star has risen with incredible speed since she debuted in 2002, and she's had the flexibility to star in both "pro" productions (by companies like Kuki and Alice Japan) and "indies" (Soft on Demand, Moodyz), allowing her to pick up a lot of fans in Japan and all ove the world. Born in Hokkaido in 1983, she likes walking. Her blood type is A.
For the new update, we've got some excellent products from Japan for you. They include:
- We've posted some more 2004 calendars which came in over the weekend, as well as added internal digital photographs of a few dozen more items, allowing you to see how great these large-format glossy calenadrs are -- remember that the time for ordering calendars will be over very soon, so get the calendar you want as quickly as possible!
- For Domo-kun fans, we have a super cool PVC keychain featuring the symbol of NHK, a "BS" dish (which stands for "broadcast sattellite")
- Smart Girls is an extremely cool magazine/photobook that presents fashionable Japanese girls in charming photographs -- we've got a cool new special issue of Smart Girls on the street that fans of FRUiTS will just love
- For fans of Japan's lovely swimsuit idols, enjoy the photobook of Megumi Okina, a wonderful idol who is very popular in Japan now
- J-List loves to carry unique toy and other items from Japan -- we've got a super cute robot chihuahua in stock for all who want to take part in Japan's "chihuahua boom"
- For fans of detailed minature candy toys from Japan, we've got the new Battle Ship Collection, featuring very cool replicas of submarines, Aegis cruisers, an aircraft carrier, destroyers, and more (and full sets are available)
- Also, by customer request we've got the Disney Kubrick toys, which feature a cool mix of famous characters from Disney films (my favorite one in this set is B.O.B. from The Black Hole, it's so cool)
- Also, we've restocked the wildly popular Alien Kubrick figures, with full sets in stock for you (don't miss them this time around)
- For fans of Japanese snack foods, we've got more delicious fish-shaped crackers called Ottotto, along with tasty new miso soup, orange juice candy and more
- Also, another wacky flavor of Recaldent sugarless gum from Japan
- For fans of Japan's most famous spokeskitty, we've got a cool plush Kitty door chime, that's great
- Panda-Z is a super cute panda who pilots a giant panda robot -- we've got two new Panda-Z cute keychains in stock for you
- Also extremely cute are the Usako Friends, aka Usacolle, little animals that fly around the sky for some reason -- and we've got some cool origami paper featuring these cute characters
- Also, a unique and interesting kind of good luck charm, "power stones" that bring you luck in love, help you quit smoking, and more
- Got odors in your house? The Japanese remove odors with charcoal made from bamboo, and we'ge got a great room freshener for you -- use it anywhere!
- Then, we've got a Japanese way to clean your ears, more green tea onsen powder for your bath and minus ion health masks, fresh stock of the happy Nico Nico toothbrush, and more!
For our adult customers, we've got many new 18+ products. They include:
- First, we've got the excellent new issues of Penthouse Japan and Penthouse Special, which feature only Japanese models shot by Japanese photographers -- they're great!
- Then we've got the new issue of Celeb Girls, featuring nothing but top-name stars from Japan like Yoko Matsugane, Sayaka Uchida, Ran Monbu, Mai Haruna and more
- For fans of backdoor themes, we've got the new issue of Hip de H, which features lovely amateur and pro adult video stars exposing their backsides
- Also, we've added fresh stock of many previous sold-out magazine and magazine + DVD combination items, as well as discounted magazines starting at $5 -- check out the items before the ones you want are sold out
- For fans of Japan's incredibly unique erotic photobooks, enjoy Toshimi Horiguchi as the Tokyo Erect Girl, a supremely sexy girl from Japan
- Also, an incredible panty stocking and cosplay themed photobook with beautiful models and long, long legs
- For hentai manga fans, enjoy some great new adult comics, including "When I call your name" by Mujin Comics, excellent breast fetish and cosplay manga, and more
- Also, fresh stock of over a dozen popular books including Irodori, Love Collection 1 & 2, and the excellent Electronic Fighting Daughter series, featuring parodies of the most famous game girls in Japan
- Also, we've got great restocked items for Satoshi Urushihara fans, including his color artbook Love and his dynamite Vampire Master 3, which sold out 50 copies in record time (but we've got another 100 in stock now)
- For our DVD customers, we've got some great new products in stock for you, starting with Haruka Serizawa's dynamite "Blue File" work, featuring 180 minutes of prime sex at a great price (region free)
- Nao Oikawa is the top adult video star in Japan today, and she looks great in her new Special Service High Class Soapland, a great new DVD from Million (region free)
- Asuka Sawaguchi shows you her "Pussy and Hip" in an erotic new production from Moodyz, featuring extremely innovative sex and erotica that you'll love (region free)
- From Soft on Demand's director Hajime, a wacky new production in which amateur girls put on frilly panties and play in front of the camera (region free)
- Then, we've got a new type of erotica for you with Ai Nanase and Shinju Umino starring in "Anal Lesbian" (refion free)
- From Waap Entertainment, enjoy prime-quality bukkake and gokkun sex in "I Want to Drink Your Semen," starring the fresh and erotic adult star Kay (region 2)
- Then, enjoy restocked erotic DVDs, including Aika Miura's Bondag Special, the Adult Video Wrestling special Fuck Down!, Lesbian Heaven 4 Hours Special, and Miyuki's delightful 210 minute No Cut!! release.
Do you love the anime films of Hayao Miyazaki? Remember that J-List stocks all the excellent region 2 DVD releases for Studio Ghibli movies like Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, Castle in the Sky Laputa, Princess Mononoke and his Lupin III classic, The Castle of Caliostro. These DVDs are released in Japan directly by the studio and include many features that make them great for collectors. All discs feature English subtitles and/or dubbed tracks and are great for fans who want the definitive versions of these anime classics overseen by Mr. Miyazaki himself. The only catch is, you need a region free DVD player to watch them -- and J-List humbly recommends the three excellent units we currently sell.
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